Justice Delayed: College Sexual Assault Victim Finds Closure After Perpetrator's Facebook Message Leads to Conviction

The judge considered Cleary's guilty plea in his sentencing decision. (Representational)

A man who messaged "So I raped you" on Facebook to a woman he sexually assaulted during college in 2013 received a prison sentence of two to four years on Monday.

This sentencing occurred more than a year after Ian Cleary was extradited to Pennsylvania from France for the assault at Gettysburg College, and almost 12 years after the victim initially reported the incident to police.

The judge issued a sentence below state guidelines after considering Cleary's guilty plea, expressed remorse, and extensive history of mental health issues. Cleary, 32, explained that he sent the messages as part of a 12-step recovery program, attempting to make amends.

Shannon Keeler, the victim, told the court that Cleary's messages reopened trauma she had carried for years regarding the assault, which remained unprosecuted for a significant period.

"The system meant to protect me protected you instead," Keeler stated, delivering a compelling 10-minute impact statement detailing her years-long pursuit of justice in a case prosecutors were initially hesitant to pursue, as is common with campus sexual assault cases.

"This isn't just my story, this is the story of countless women," she emphasized.

Cleary could have received up to 10 years imprisonment for the attack, with prosecutors initially suggesting a four- to eight-year sentence.

Andrea Levy, Keeler's attorney, remarked that the sentence was "less than what we expected and certainly less than he deserves," but acknowledged the relief that came with concluding the case.

Keeler reported to police that Cleary entered her dormitory during winter break when the campus was nearly empty, forced his way into her room, and assaulted her. She was an 18-year-old first-semester student at the time.

Senior Judge Kevin Hess noted that anyone with daughters or granddaughters in college would find such a crime "horrifying."

Nevertheless, he stated, "the defendant has admitted his guilt, he's come forward and even though 10 to 11 alarming years have passed in the meantime, we wouldn't be here today but for his hope for some kind of forgiveness and contrition."

After the assault, Cleary left Gettysburg and eventually completed his education in Silicon Valley, California, where he grew up. He subsequently earned a master's degree and worked for Tesla before relocating overseas.

In 2019, Cleary sent the Facebook message to Keeler, prompting her to renew her efforts with law enforcement after discovering the messages months later. In 2021, she shared her experience in an Associated Press story highlighting prosecutors' reluctance to pursue campus sexual assault cases.

Cleary was indicted weeks after the AP story's publication, and following a three-year search, authorities extradited him from Metz, France, where he had been detained on a vagrancy-related charge in April 2024.

During Monday's court proceedings, Cleary apologized directly to Keeler and his father while standing just feet away.

"I'm committed to getting treatment for mental health and stuff like that as I go forward," he stated.

Cleary's family members have declined to comment on the case and were absent from most court hearings.

In interviews with the AP, Keeler described her persistent efforts to convince authorities to file charges, beginning hours after the assault occurred.

"I had been thinking about this moment for 12 years," Keeler said after seeing Cleary in court in July, when he pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault. She described the experience as surreal.

Authorities in both the U.S. and Europe attempted to locate Cleary following the indictment but struggled to track him until his arrest in an unrelated case.

Defense attorney John Abom maintained that Cleary experienced homelessness at times and was unaware of the charges. Adams County District Attorney Brian Sinnett expressed skepticism but acknowledged he couldn't prove Cleary was deliberately evading authorities.

The AP typically withholds the names of sexual assault victims unless they choose to come forward publicly, as Keeler has done.

"The system that failed me a decade ago finally delivered accountability, but at a cost. Evidence was lost. Time passed," she told the court Monday, noting that the rape kit evidence collected that night had been destroyed by the time of the indictment.

"My life moved on, but the impact never went away, not for me, not for my family, not for anyone who had to watch this unfold again and again," she concluded.