Man pleads guilty to sexual assault of female college classmate in 2013 after sending 'I raped you'

A California man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a fellow college student in 2013 after sending a message to her years later that said, "So I raped you."

Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty  Thursday to sexual in a courtroom just miles from where he assaulted the woman at Gettysburg College. according to The New York Times.

The story of the incident and the message drew national attention. 

Cleary was arrested in April 2024 in Metz, France, in connection with a case involving the possession of stolen goods, officials said. At the time of his arrest, Cleary had been in France for two to three years, he told authorities.

He was extradited to the U.S. in January.

The woman who was attacked, Shannon Keeler, was heading back to her dorm room with a friend after a party on the campus on the night of Dec. 15, 2013, to celebrate the end of finals, according to an affidavit of probable cause. 

She told police that Cleary had followed her and the friend home, and that the friend told him to “go away” after he offered $20 to be left alone with Keeler.

After the friend left Keeler's dorm, she heard a knock and opened her door without looking through the peephole, thinking it would be another friend, according to the affidavit. It was actually Cleary at the door, who entered her dorm and assaulted her. Keeler reported the sexual assault to the Gettysburg police that night.

Keeler told The Associated Press in a 2021 interview that the district attorney’s office said that it was difficult to prosecute sexual assault cases when the victim had been drinking. She also learned that the rape kit from the police investigation was destroyed after the case was initially closed.

Cleary will face a maximum possible sentence of four to eight years in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Kevin A. Hess on Oct. 20, under the plea agreement, according to his lawyer. 

The attorney added that his client can receive credit for his time in custody since his April 2024 arrest in France. Cleary is being held at the Adams County Adult Correctional Complex.

In 2020, Keeler discovered Facebook messages that Cleary sent her in 2019.

“I need to hear your voice,” one message read. “I need to know if I did it or not.”

“So I raped you,” another message said.

Keeler then contacted the Adams County District Attorney’s Office, which in June 2021 obtained an arrest warrant for Cleary.