France Will Extradite Assault Suspect Who Allegedly Wrote, 'So I Raped You'

A French court on Monday ruled that an American citizen accused of sexually assaulting a college student and later sending her a Facebook message that said, "So I raped you," can be extradited to the United States.

Ian Cleary, a 31-year old native of California, was apprehended in April in the city of Metz in northeastern France following a three-year search. He has been held in custody pending extradition proceedings since his arrest.

The charges against Cleary stem from a 2013 incident at Pennsylvania's Gettysburg College, where he allegedly stalked and sexually assaulted an 18-year-old student in her dorm room. The victim, Shannon Keeler, was publicly identified with her consent while she led a persistent campaign for the eventual charges against Cleary to be filed.

The Monday ruling from the Court of Appeal in Metz confirmed Cleary's eligibility for extradition. Despite his refusal to consent to the process, as allowed by French law, the court's decision remains final.

Cleary's resistance to the legal process in France may prolong the extradition timeline, but it will not prevent it as the French Justice Ministry will now draft the extradition order for the prime minister's approval. Until then, Cleary remains detained.

Newsweek reached out to the French Justice Ministry via email on Monday for comment.

Keeler had urged for charges to be filed against Cleary for years before going to authorities again in 2021 after discovering Facebook messages that seemed to come from Cleary's account. Those messages sent to Keeler allegedly said, "So I raped you," "I'll never do it to anyone ever again," and "I need to hear your voice."

Police later verified that the Facebook account used to send the messages belonged to Cleary, according to a June 2021 warrant. The messages prompted renewed urgency in the case with a subsequent international search for Clearly.

According to the Associated Press, Keeler said at the time of the issued arrest warrant that she was grateful for the law enforcement response but added it only happened "because I went public with my story, which no survivor should have to do in order to obtain justice."

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), 13 percent of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence or incapacitation, while only 20 percent of female student victims, age 18-24, report the assaults to law enforcement and only 32 percent of non-student females the same age do make a report.

In an emailed statement to Newsweek, RAINN cited institutional failures as one reason for Keeler's struggle in getting charges filed while highlighting the need to eliminate arbitrary time limits on prosecuting sexual assault suspects.

"The institutions Shannon Keeler went to for help let her down for more than eight years, and we are so grateful for her courage in continuing to advocate on her own behalf. The fact this moment took 11 years shows why it is so important that arbitrary time limits on the ability to prosecute sexual predators be eliminated, and any case with sufficient evidence should be allowed to move forward to hold sexual predators accountable, regardless of how long that takes," Stefan Turkheimer, RAINN vice president of public policy, said.

Turkheimer continued by calling for schools to maintain Title IX investigations even if the suspect leaves the institution, to ensure accountability and justice.

"In addition to the criminal justice system, schools should do a better job holding sexual perpetrators accountable and not end Title IX investigations just because the sexual perpetrator is no longer at that institution. These necessary changes would bring justice to more victims, instead of means of escape for offenders."

Update 07/09/24, 5:17 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from RAINN.