Frustrated Virgin Who Threatened Women Learns His Fate

Christopher W. Cleary said he'd kill 'as many girls as I see'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 23, 2019 5:00 PM CDT
Frustrated Virgin Who Threatened Women Learns His Fate
Christopher W. Cleary, leaves the courtroom following his sentencing Thursday, May 23, 2019, in Provo, Utah. Cleary, a man who posted a Facebook message threatening to kill "as many girls as I see" in retaliation for years of romantic rejection was sentenced to up to five years in prison in Utah.   (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

A man who posted a Facebook message threatening to kill "as many girls as I see" in retaliation for years of romantic rejection was sentenced Thursday to up to five years in prison, the AP reports. Judge Christine Johnson's decision to keep Christopher W. Cleary, 27, of Denver, behind bars in Utah went against a recommendation from Cleary's attorney and prosecutors to sentence him to probation so he could be returned to Colorado to serve prison time there for probation violations. Johnson said the incident clearly warranted prison time and that she didn't feel comfortable relying on Colorado to keep Cleary locked up. She said Utah's board of pardons can decide if Cleary should be transferred to Colorado.

Cleary's Facebook threat came hours before women marched through many US cities in January, stoking fears of another deadly rampage by a man blaming women for his problems. Cleary called himself a virgin who never had a girlfriend. When police tracked his cellphone and arrested him at a McDonald's restaurant in Provo, Utah, Cleary said he had been upset and wasn't thinking clearly. Cleary spoke only briefly at the sentencing, saying quietly, "I'm just sorry for what happened." His actions fit a pattern of behavior for a troubled man with a history of terrorizing women he met over the internet. At least eight people since 2012 have contacted authorities to accuse Cleary of stalking or harassing them, according to an AP review of police and court records. (Much more on Cleary's history here.)

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