Ian Cleary, a former college hockey player, has been sentenced to prison for the sexual assault of a fellow student, Shannon Keeler, at a Pennsylvania university. The disturbing crime, which took place nearly a decade ago, resurfaced when Cleary sent a chilling Facebook message to Keeler years later, admitting, “So I raped you.”

In December 2013, Cleary’s behavior at a fraternity party raised alarms as he acted “creepy” and “gross” towards Keeler, as she recounted in a 2021 interview with the Associated Press. Despite her attempts to rebuff his advances, Cleary persisted, following her back to her dorm room after the party.

Keeler described their initial encounter at the party, where Cleary’s unwanted advances made her uncomfortable as they danced. Another woman at the party also reported inappropriate behavior from Cleary, recalling that he had groped her and made unsettling comments about taking her away.

Ignoring Keeler’s pleas to stop and leave, Cleary forced his way into her dorm room and assaulted her, despite her attempts to reach out to friends for help during the ordeal. Prosecutors have presented these details as they successfully sought justice for Keeler, who was only 18 at the time of the attack.

Prosecutors said Cleary set his sights on Keeler, who was 18 at the time, and followed her into her dorm room after the party and busted in behind her. She begged him to stop and leave, but Cleary assaulted her anyway, even as she texted friends for help.

“As soon as he did, he started crying after,” Keeler told the AP. “He said, ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you. Did I hurt you?’ And then he ran away.”

More than half a decade passed before Cleary reached out on Facebook in 2019 to remind Keeler of the horror she experienced.

“So I raped you,” Cleary wrote.

“I’ll never do it to anyone ever again,” he said, adding, “I need to hear your voice” and “I pray for you.”

Cleary claimed he suffered from mental health issues and sent the messages as part of a 12-step program.

Keeler’s assault drew national media attention in 2021 after the AP reported how the young woman went to police to report the assault in 2013 and nothing was done. An investigation by Gettysburg College had been closed after Cleary left the school, and the local district attorney chose to not pursue charges after probing the incident in 2015, per the AP.

Prosecutors reevaluated Keeler’s case after being shown the DMs from Cleary in 2021 and a judge signed off on charges that June.

Cleary, who was an upperclassman at Gettysburg College and goalie for the men’s hockey team at the time of the assault , was identified by other people who had attended the party that night. After leaving the school, Cleary earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Santa Clara University in California and then moved to France. He was tracked down and arrested overseas in April 2024.

Police had been actively searching for Cleary since the summer of 2021 after his arrest warrant was issued. He was busted in Metz, France, and extradited to face trial in Adams County.

Cleary pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault in July 2025 and was sentenced Monday to serve two to four years in prison, the AP reports.

Keeler said in court that she believes Cleary would’ve been given a harsher charge and punishment had evidence not been “lost,” and if prosecutors would have taken her accusations more seriously.

“The system that failed me a decade ago finally delivered accountability, but at a cost,” she said Monday, according to local ABC affiliate WPVI.

“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,” she said.