A man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman during college and later sending a Facebook message confessing the assault was sentenced to two to four years in prison on Monday. Ian Cleary, 32, was extradited from France to Pennsylvania over the incident at Gettysburg College after more than a year and nearly 12 years since the victim reported the assault to the police.
Considering Cleary’s guilty plea, remorse, and history of mental illness, the judge handed down a sentence below state guidelines. Cleary admitted to sending the messages in 2021 as part of a 12-step program to seek atonement for the sexual assault that occurred eight years prior.
The victim, Shannon Keeler, expressed in court that the messages reopened past wounds, highlighting the challenges she faced in pursuing justice due to reluctance from prosecutors in campus sexual assault cases. Despite originally facing a maximum of 10 years in prison, Cleary received a lower sentence than initially proposed.
Keeler’s lawyer, Andrea Levy, acknowledged the sentence as less than expected but expressed relief that the case concluded. Keeler recounted the assault where Cleary forced his way into her dorm room during winter break when she was an 18-year-old college freshman.
Judge Kevin Hess emphasized the severity of the crime, particularly for those with daughters or granddaughters in college. Cleary, who will also be required to register as a sex offender, left Gettysburg after the assault, completed college in California, and worked for Tesla before moving abroad.
Cleary’s arrest in France stemmed from a vagrancy charge, following an indictment triggered by an Associated Press story on campus sex crimes. In court, Cleary apologized to Keeler and his family, pledging to seek mental health treatment moving forward. Keeler’s long struggle to seek justice culminated in Cleary’s guilty plea after years of evading authorities.
Despite evidence loss and time passed, Keeler expressed gratitude for the accountability delivered by the justice system, emphasizing the lasting impact of the assault on her life and family. Authorities in the U.S. and Europe had difficulty tracking Cleary until his arrest in France, with conflicting accounts regarding his awareness of the charges against him.