• Ian Cleary pleads guilty to sexual assault of a college student in 2013.
• He faces a proposed sentence of four to eight years in prison.
• The case gained attention due to Cleary's Facebook message stating, “So I raped you.”
• Shannon Keeler, the accuser, has tirelessly pursued justice for over a decade.
• Cleary was apprehended in France before being extradited to the U.S.

Ian Cleary, 32, has pleaded guilty to charges of sexually assaulting a fellow student at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania in 2013. This plea comes months after he was extradited from France to face the allegations. Cleary had previously sent a Facebook message to the accuser stating, “So I raped you,” which has further complicated his case and highlighted the severity of the accusations against him, according to sfgate and latimes.

The judge, Kevin Hess, has set a sentencing date for October 20, with the possibility of a sentence ranging from four to eight years. Cleary's defense is built around his mental health issues, as he reportedly experienced episodes that required hospitalization when he sent the Facebook message in 2019. This plea marks a significant event in the decade-long struggle of his accuser, Shannon Keeler, who fought for justice since the incident. Her persistence was key in prompting the authorities to pursue charges against Cleary, reports CBS News.

Keeler faced Cleary in court for the first time since the assault, gripping her husband’s hand as she witnessed him entering the courtroom in handcuffs. This encounter signifies a culmination of her long battle to bring him to justice, which included efforts dating back to the incident and renewed actions in 2021 following her discovery of the disturbing messages, as highlighted by all sources: sfgate, latimes, and CBS News.

In December 2023, Cleary was arrested in Metz, France, on unrelated charges. His previous years included studying in France, working for Tesla, and even pursuing medieval fiction writing, according to his online posts. His family has not publicly commented on the ongoing legal matters, nor have they attended the hearings, a detail noted by latimes and CBS News.