A Pennsylvania woman is finding closure years after receiving a disturbing Facebook message from the man who sexually assaulted in her college that read, “So I raped you.”
Ian Cleary, 32, was sentenced Oct. 20 to two to four years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree sexual assault earlier this year, according to The Associated Press.
The sentence concludes a years-long battle by sexual assault survivor Shannon Keeler to hold Cleary accountable for the 2013 assault at Gettysburg College.
“The system meant to protect me protected you instead,” Keeler told Cleary in court during a powerful victim impact statement Oct. 20. “This isn’t just my story, this is the story of countless women.”
What Happened to Shannon Keeler?
Keeler was a freshman lacrosse player in 2013 when she attended a college fraternity party. There, she noticed Cleary giving her unwanted attention and asked a friend to walk her back to her dorm room, but Cleary followed her home.
“There was knock on the door. And, I mean, I just didn’t think for a second it would be him,” Keeler told ABC News. “And I opened the door and it was him, and … he came in uninvited.”
After forcing his way inside, Cleary sexually assaulted her.
She reported the incident to the college and local police, even agreeing to a rape kit the same day of the attack, but at the time the district attorney declined to press charges.
Years later, while on vacation in 2020, Keeler was surprised to find unread Facebook messages from Cleary sent months earlier.
“So, I raped you,” Cleary wrote in the messages, according to the news outlet. “I’ll never do it to anyone ever again.”
He also added that he needed to “hear your voice” and promised to pray for her, according to WGAL.
Ian Cleary is Extradited From France
After finding the messages, Keeler tried once again to bring Cleary to justice, sharing her story with the Associated Press in 2021 about the challenges survivors face pursuing charges.
That same year, prosecutors indicted Cleary for sexual assault, but he was no longer living in the U.S.
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He was extradited from Metz, France in April of 2024 and pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault in July.
Cleary apologized for his actions in court Oct. 20, saying, according to the Associated Press, “I’m committed to getting treatment for mental health and stuff like that as I go forward.”
Shannon Keeler Confronts Ian Cleary in Court
For Keeler, it was a moment she’d waited years for.
“The system that failed me a decade ago finally delivered accountability, but at a cost. Evidence was lost. Time passed,” she said in court. “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.”
Although prosecutors advocated for a four- to eight-year sentence, Cleary was sentenced to two to four years in prison and given credit for time served, according to WGAL.
“It definitely was shorter than we expected and less than I think he deserved,” Keeler acknowledged in her comments to ABC News. “But you know what, he’s going to jail and he’s going to have the label of a sexual predator for the rest of his life, and that’s accountability, and that’s justice, and for that … I’m happy, and I’m grateful, and I’m relieved, and I’m lucky.”
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She added that she’d chosen to forgive Clearly in the hopes of moving forward.
“Ultimately, forgiveness doesn’t just set him free. It sets me free too, right? And I don’t want to live with anger,” she said. “I believe in redemption as well, and he still has the power to live a good life and become a good person and do the right thing, and I hope he does.”