A Facebook Message Results in a Warrant for a Years-Old Rape Allegation
While she pleaded for prosecutors to take up her college rape complaint, Shannon Keeler studied in Spain, won a national championship in lacrosse, earned a bachelor’s degree and fell in love.
All the while, she gathered evidence from the freshman year attack and passed it on to investigators. Here are the names of people who saw the upperclassman stalk me at the frat party in 2013. Here’s the phone number of the friend who saw him follow me home. Here’s the name of the hospital where my coach took me for a rape kit.
And then, just last year: Here’s a recent message from his Facebook account that says, “So I raped you.”
After verifying the account, and after Keeler told her story to The Associated Press, a new team of police and prosecutors on Tuesday obtained an arrest warrant, charging Ian Cleary, 28, of Saratoga, California, with sexually assaulting Keeler when they were students at Gettysburg College in 2013. Police say they had not yet located him, and aren’t sure where he is. So it’s still not clear whether Keeler will see the case go to trial.
