A man accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and sending her a text message years later saying, “That's why I raped you,” has been arrested in France, authorities said. .
The man, Ian Thomas Cleary of Saratoga, California, had been wanted since 2021 when a warrant was issued for his arrest on suspicion of sexual assault. Cleary, 31, was detained in Metz, France, last month, according to prosecutors at the Metz Court of Appeal.
Prosecutors said Cleary was arrested in connection with a possession of stolen property case. The circumstances of his arrest were not detailed, but Cleary told French police he had been in France for the past two to three years.
Cleary remains in custody, prosecutors said. It was not immediately clear how quickly Mr. Cleary would be extradited to the United States, but prosecutors have said he could be held for up to 60 days, which would be the first step in a formal extradition request by U.S. law enforcement officials. This is the period during which you must submit your application.
The arrest warrant was issued after Shannon Keeler discovered a series of Facebook messages from Cleary and showed them to authorities in Adams County, Pennsylvania. She was a student at Gettysburg College at the time of the attack. Ms. Keeler's attorney, Andrea M. Levy, said Ms. Keeler had no comment on her Tuesday investigation.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Keeler went to the Gettysburg Police Department on Dec. 15, 2013, to report the sexual assault after attending a party with friends on the Gettysburg College campus to celebrate the end of the finals. I reported it.
She told authorities that Cleary, who was also a student at the university at the time, followed her and a friend from a party to her dorm room. Her friend, who was accompanying her, said Cleary offered her $20 to be alone with Keeler, according to her affidavit.
The friend told Cleary to “get out,” and Cleary did so, according to the affidavit.
But minutes after her friend left, Keeler told authorities she heard a knock on the door and opened it without looking through the peephole, according to the affidavit.
Authorities said Cleary entered the apartment without her consent, kissed Keeler and had sex with her.
After Keeler apologized and left the unit, he sent a message to a friend saying, “Oh, please help me,” according to the affidavit.
In 2021, Keeler told The Associated Press that authorities told her it would be difficult to prosecute assault cases where the victim had been drinking. She also learned in 2020 that the rape kit used in the investigation was destroyed after the case was initially closed, she said.
But the lawsuit ended in May 2020 when Keeler discovered a series of Facebook messages that Cleary had sent her in December 2019, according to the affidavit.
One person said, “That's why I raped you.” Another said: “I will never do that to anyone again.”
Police obtained a search warrant for the Facebook account and matched it to Cleary through his cell phone number, according to the affidavit. A warrant for Cleary's arrest was issued in June 2021.
By last year, Cleary was the subject of an Interpol warning known as a Red Notice as the U.S. Marshals Service began to believe he may have gone overseas, according to the Associated Press.