American accused of assaulting a Pa. student being extradited to US, prosecutors say

PARIS — Prosecutors at France’s Court of Appeals said an American man is accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania student in 2013 and later send her a Facebook message who said, “So I raped you,” was extradited to the United States on Thursday.

The prosecutor’s office at the Court of Appeal in Metz, in northeastern France, said Ian Cleary transferred to US authorities at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Cleary, 31, of Saratoga, California, was arrested in Metz in April after a three-year search. Since his arrest, he has been in custody awaiting extradition proceedings. The Court of Appeal in Metz ruled in July that he could be extradited.

Cleary had been the subject of an international search since Pennsylvania authorities issued a 2021 felony warrant in the case weeks later. an Associated Press story detailed local prosecutors’ reluctance to prosecute sex crimes on campus.

The arrest warrant accuses Cleary of stalking an 18-year-old Gettysburg College student at a party in 2013, sneaking into her dorm and sexually assaulting her as she texted friends for help. He was a 20-year-old student from Gettysburg at the time, but did not return to campus.

The accuser, Shannon Keeler, had a rape exam taken the same day. She gathered witnesses and evidence and pushed officials for years to file charges. In 2021, she went to authorities again after discovering the Facebook messages that appeared to come from Cleary’s account.

“So I raped you,” the sender wrote in a series of messages.

“I will never do it to anyone again.”

“I need to hear your voice.”

“I’ll pray for you.”

According to the June 2021 warrant, police verified that the Facebook account used to send the messages belonged to Cleary.

The AP does not generally identify victims of sexual assault without their consent, which Keeler granted.