A New York City police officer imprisoned for plotting to kidnap and cannibalize women has had his conviction overturned. Gilberto Valle became known as the “cannibal cop” after it emerged he had openly fantasized about eating women in online posts and had searched for recipes for cooking human flesh and for making homemade chloroform to subdue victims. But on Tuesday, a district judge ruled Valle’s posts amounted to “fantasy role play,” not an actual crime. Valle made a brief statement outside the courtroom.

Gilberto Valle: “I’d like to make a very, very brief statement. I want to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone who has been hurt, shocked and offended by my infantile actions.”

The judge in the case upheld a lesser charge of improperly accessing a police database to find potential victims, but it carries a term shorter than the 18 months Valle spent behind bars.