NY Cop Charged In 'Kidnap And Cannibal Plot'

A New York City police officer has been charged with plotting to kidnap, rape, torture and kill women and then cook and eat their body parts.

A search of Gilberto Valle's computer found he had created records of at least 100 women with their names, addresses and photos, a criminal complaint said.

Some of the information came from his unauthorised use of a law enforcement database, authorities said.

In one online exchange in July, Valle allegedly wrote: "I was thinking of tying her body on to some kind of apparatus... cook her over low heat, keep her alive as long as possible."

In other online conversations, investigators said he talked about the mechanics of fitting a woman's body into an oven, claimed he could make chloroform at home to knock a woman out and discussed how "tasty" one woman looked.

"Her days are numbered," he wrote, according to the complaint.

Valle, 28, appeared in federal court, where Judge Henry Pitman said the allegations against the defendant were "profoundly disturbing".

He ordered Valle be detained without bail after his initial appearance.

Mary E. Galligan, acting head of the FBI's New York office, said: "The allegations in the complaint really need no description from us. They speak for themselves.

"It would be an understatement merely to say Valle's own words and actions were shocking."

Valle met one potential victim over lunch, authorities said.

The complaint alleges that in February, Valle negotiated to kidnap another woman for someone else, writing: "$5,000 and she's all yours."

Mobile phone data revealed that Valle made calls on the block where the woman lives in March, the complaint says.

An FBI agent interviewed the woman, who told them that she did not know him well and he was never in her home.

Valle was suspended on Wednesday.

Chief Manhattan federal prosecutor Preet Bharara said: "This case is all the more disturbing when you consider Valle's position as a New York City police officer and his sworn duty to serve and protect."