A man who threatened to murder “as many girls” as he could see may escape a jail sentence, despite pleading guilty to a charge of attempted threat of terrorism.

Christopher Cleary wrote a detailed Facebook post about how he planned to become “the next mass shooter” in January 2019.

The 27-year-old described himself as a virgin who had never had a girlfriend.

He also said he wanted to make the fact that so many women had turned him down “right” by going on a shooting spree, according to documents filed by Provo Police.

Cleary was arrested on 19 January after publishing the Facebook post.

Cleary then struck a deal with Utah prosecutors, pleading guilty to a reduced criminal charge.

Attempted threat of terrorism is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

But Utah prosecutors agreed to recommend him for probation, despite his extensive criminal record.

A judge will decide whether or not to accept the deal at a hearing on Thursday.

The 27-year-old has been accused of stalking multiple times, with at least eight alleged victims contacting the authorities about his behaviour since 2012, according to police and court records.

He was on probation following a marijuana conviction in 2016 when he was charged with stalking two teenagers he had met online.

Cleary was put on probation for the stalking cases but in 2017 was charged with stalking and harassing his case worker.

In 2018 judges in Jefferson County, Colorado sentenced him, once again, to probation for all three stalking cases.

In one of the cases a 19-year-old woman said she lived with Cleary for a fortnight in a hotel room.

She said that he strangled and urinated on her during that time, court records show.

Cleary was out on probation for the three cases when he was arrested in a McDonald's in January, after publishing his Facebook post.

Pam Russell, a spokeswoman for the Utah’s county prosecutor’s office, said once the case was concluded Cleary would be returned to Colorado.

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Prosecutors in Denver will seek to revoke his probation and send him to prison in relation for the stalking and harassment cases, she added.

“All I wanted to be was loved,” Cleary wrote in his Facebook post.

“Yet no one cares about me, I’m 27 years old and I’ve never had a girlfriend before and I’m still a virgin, this is why I’m planning on shooting up a public place soon and being the next mass shooter cause I’m ready to die.”

It is unclear how truthful the Facebook post was, as at least two of Cleary’s accusers have said they had a sexual relationship with him.

Some news reports have speculated that Cleary could be part of the “incel movement”, which promotes the misogynistic idea that men are entitled to have sex with women.

But a Colorado police detective, who investigated two accusations against the 27-year-old, said there as no evidence he was part of the movement.

“I truly think he’s just wired differently,” he said.

Additional reporting by agencies