Man Jailed for Campus Sexual Assault After Admitting ‘So I Raped You’ in Message

• Oct 21, 2025

A Pennsylvania man who sent a Facebook message admitting to a campus sexual assault more than a decade later has been sentenced to two to four years in prison. Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting Shannon Keeler at Gettysburg College in 2013.

Cleary’s message to Keeler, which read “So I raped you,” reignited a case that had gone unprosecuted for years. He told the court that he sent the message as part of a 12-step recovery program, claiming it was meant as an act of atonement.

Judge Kevin Hess considered Cleary’s guilty plea, expression of remorse, and long history of mental illness before imposing a sentence below Pennsylvania’s standard guidelines. Cleary had faced up to 10 years in prison, and both sides initially proposed a four- to eight-year term.

In a powerful statement to the court, Keeler said the message only reopened deep emotional wounds from the attack. “The system meant to protect me protected you instead,” she told Cleary, describing her years of frustration trying to persuade authorities to pursue charges in a case many prosecutors avoid — campus sexual assaults. “This isn’t just my story, it’s the story of countless women,” she added.

Keeler recounted that Cleary had sneaked into her dorm room on the eve of winter break in 2013, when few students were on campus, and assaulted her. Cleary later left Gettysburg College, moved to California, earned a master’s degree, worked for Tesla, and eventually relocated overseas.

After Keeler received his Facebook confession years later, she renewed her efforts with police and prosecutors to reopen the case. Her public story, shared through the Associated Press in 2021, shed light on how authorities often hesitate to pursue campus sexual assault cases.

Cleary was indicted weeks after Keeler’s story went public. Following a three-year international search, he was arrested in Metz, France, in April 2024 on unrelated charges and extradited to the U.S.

During Monday’s sentencing, Cleary apologized to Keeler and his family, saying he was committed to seeking mental health treatment. Keeler, who has spent 12 years fighting for justice, said finally seeing him in court was a “surreal moment” after years of waiting for accountability.