October 21, 2025 • 21 mins
That was the message Shannon Keeler received on Facebook from her assailant, more than 6 years after she was raped in her freshman dorm. It would still take an article in the press, and another 6 years before her rapist was finally held accountable and sentenced this week… but even the sentencing of 32-year-old Ian Cleary felt like another blow to Keeler’s fight for justice.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey there, folks. It is Tuesday, October the twenty first,
and a man was just sentenced this week for a
sexual assault he committed twelve years ago. And it took
his victim doing her own investigation to get this crime solved.
And it all came down to him make it a
(00:23):
confession on Facebook and you know what it said, So
I raped you with that. Welcome to this episode of
Amy and TJ Roapes. That's getting a lot of headlines
the fact that he wrote that message, it was on Facebook.
But this is an awful story of a woman having
to solve her own damn rape.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Well, here's the deal. She knew who.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Her attacker was almost immediately. She did all the right things.
She texted for help as it was happening, She had
her friends come over right after it happened, She went
to the police, had a rape, and and did everything
a rape victim is supposed to do to prove her case.
(01:05):
And even after her assailant sent her that message in
twenty nineteen, it still took years before he was actually found,
arrested and held accountable.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
This story is wild. You just went through all those steps.
It's exactly what they tell women to do. And it's
also anytime we do have a case, oftentimes that a
defense will go after the fact, well why does she
wait so long to report, or why didn't she tell
anybody immediately? And all of those things. We know, those
things come up, and this was a case where she
(01:40):
did exactly exactly what everyone would have told a woman
in this position to do, and still it took this long.
I think that's the.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You applaud her for what she did, but man, it
is sad that she had to do it.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I read through.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I was not aware of this, but there have been
news out there, specifically the AP, the Associated Press, who
has been following her story for years now, and they
actually said it wasn't until they did a profile in
twenty twenty one interviewing her about these Facebook messages, about
the fact that she went back sent them back to police,
and it was weeks after they published that article that boil.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
All of a sudden an indictment showed up.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
That's a shame.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
That is a shame.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So we'll go back. This is twenty thirteen. This young lady. Again,
she's been out there and been outspoken about this, so
we can speak on who she is, but her name
is Shannon Keeler. Would you say she's thirty years old? Now?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Thirty years old?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Now okay, But she was a freshman at Gettysburg College
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Now the incident, she describes that nice.
She's stuck to this story. But it was a rape
in twenty thirteen, after she had gone to a park.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yes, and this was all verified by multiple witnesses because
there was a another young woman with her. He who first
had been i would say, approached by and bothered by
this man who they described as this creepy.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Man at this party. Right, they were dancing, but he
was going a little too far and even grabbed the woman, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Groping her heyes, grabbing her breast, grabbing her but all
of that.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
So she was going to this other woman, Shannon, they
met at the party's kind of like help me get
away from this guy. What ended up happening was the
guy who they described as the creepy man, turned his
attention and perhaps affection towards Shannon and actually followed her
as they were leaving the party. She actually asked a
male friend to walk her home because she was concerned
(03:40):
about this guy is following her. And he, according to
the man who was sort of a friend who was
walking her home, asked him to leave so that he
could continue talking with her, and they said go away, leave,
so he left, but he showed back up once she
got back into her dorm.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
He actually knocked on the.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Door, the doorbell when she said she and immediately just
panic at the time. So sexual assault, rape takes place there.
Did you read this detail? She said?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
He cried, Yes, afterwards, he cried after he raped her.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
To who knows what that possible. That's just an odd
and almost sinister detail to hear. But he eventually leaves,
leaves school even but she gets with her friends. She
goes back and spends the night with them. But she
did everything along the way. She told her parents, She
went to police, she did the rape kit, she documented,
(04:35):
she did everything, but but no arrest was made because
they were telling her, you hate to say it, alcohol,
alcohol was involved.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Alcoholm She had been drinking at a party and they
had the rape kit.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
They actually had the dinny as she said.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
She remembers the nurse saying, we got something, So she
knows that they actually had physical evidence of well was
left behind from a rape. I mean it was sperm
some sort of DNA from the assailant, and she thought, okay,
I've done that part. But once they then went police,
they said, hey, there was alcoholic.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Bolics of this difficult situation.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
They reached out this guy reportedly and by email. The
email he denied it, and so they were kind of like, well,
it's a he said.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
She said, so there's nothing we can do.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
That's it's tough to hear those details. Now. We're going
to get more into that story in the second. But
all of this again, this was in twenty thirteen. She
would send police updates of witnesses and the phone numbers,
even of friends. Hey this is somebody you could talk to.
She got pushback, deny, deny, denied every time. Then you go,
like you said, ropes. I think it was twenty nineteen
(05:50):
the first messages started coming in. She got several Facebook messages.
One of them was from him saying, so I raped you.
She then takes those messages to police. She then does
the profile with the associated Press. Then they take this
up robes and they say, okay, yes, we're going to
(06:11):
issue a warrant for his arrest, but where the hell
is he?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
They can't find him. Turns out this man his name
is Ian Cleary. By the way, he is thirty two
years old. He went on to another college in his
home state of California, graduated, got his master's degree, worked
for Tesla, and he was overseas for whatever reason. Ultimately,
and I never figured out, did you see what? He
(06:35):
was actually arrested for something completely different, something.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
That I yes, he's nothing to do with anything.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
Silent, But because he was arrested in France, his name
popped up and they were able to find him. In
twenty twenty four, he was finally arrested. So we are
talking eleven years after the rape, so.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
They finally get him back. He did plead guilty in July,
but he was just sentenced this week, sentenced to two
to four years in jail, two to four years for
this assault. Again, he's been free for the past twelve
but now he's going to get two to four years
in prison. You were kind of I guess it's a
(07:19):
little head scratching, but they to some I guess it
might be. But the judge did take into consideration that
he did apologize and confess to what he.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Had done, but he denied it four years left her
twisting in the wind, unbelieved by a lot of people
and probably feeling revictimized for that decade plus by this system,
by the people who refuse to prosecute. She says. She
remembers in twenty fifteen there was a two year I
guess window of opportunities charges. She remembers meeting with the
(07:49):
detective or whoever was in charge of her case, and
he said, yes, sorry, we're done, and she still didn't
let it go and was trying to move on when
the Facebook messages came about here's the thing that actually
really got to do both sides sense and the prosecution
he was well, he pleaded guilty.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
But when that that guilty plea.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Was put in this awaiting sentencing, both sides asked for
four to six.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Years, and yet the judge went, law, look, they have
discretion and maybe he saw something in this man. Who knows.
But the judge said this, and I don't know if
you have a problem, you know what, let me not
set it up that way. This is just what he said.
The defendant has admitted his guilt, he's come forward and
(08:34):
even though ten to eleven alarming years have passed in
the meantime, we wouldn't be here today but for his
hope for some kind of forgiveness and contrition.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
I think this woman had been through so much because
of this man. He chose to do what he did,
he chose to deny it, he chose to leave the country,
and because his guilt was nagging on him, or supposed
to applauded him and were supposed to give him some
sort of leniency for that. Look, I think four to
six years was the appropriate sentence that both sides agreed upon.
(09:08):
So for the judge to go a full two years
less than what the defense was even asking to me
is offensive.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
It just is.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
And he mentioned, you know, I have daughters and granddaughters,
and he mentioned the judge.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yes, he brought that into it, But.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
I just can't stand behind that decision woman as a mother,
I just don't think that because someone admitted something, and yes,
I appreciate that, And four to six years still seems
like not very many years given what he did and
what he was willing to do to somebody. I mean,
he thought this out, This wasn't some random thing like
(09:47):
he made choices each step of play. Why should he
not have to pay for his crime and.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
He got eleven three years right that the judge had
me up. But I am not judgment. It's not my
job to do. It's this judges thing to do. And
if I would have just heard two to four like
oh okay and going on. But when he said that
we wouldn't be here today but for his hope for
(10:13):
some kind of forgiveness and contrition, that's as if we
are only here today by the good deed of this man.
That is offensive to the young lady. It's offensive to
a woman who we are. There were a lot of
hopes that we could have put on the police charging
(10:37):
the guy listening to her. We're acting as if the
only option for this woman getting justice was this guy
coming forward. No, that's not right.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I knew who he was. She knew who he was.
The DNA proved who he was.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
I know, you got to prove a case, but that
one things for the victim to say, we're only here
because he was a good enough guy. Damn that sting.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
It really does, and it takes away any responsibility that
the prosecution has. And look, a lot of folks now
are looking at this case and even looking back, I
understand from the outside looking in.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I don't know what it's like internally to be in.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
A DA's office figure out what to prosecute, what not
to prosecute. But I understand generally that rape is among
and sexual assault is among the hardest or among the
hardest cases to prove period.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I get that. But this system let this young woman down.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
She had eyewitnesses, she had DNA, she had so many
things that they wouldn't even consider charges against this slan.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
She did the work. I mean she did her own
I mean she handed it to him. Here, guys, here
is are you witnesses, let's knocket out. Look, I'm not
I don't want to take on the challenge or take
on what prosecutors and a police have to do. That
that's a hell of a job. And I you don't
have unlimited resources and people in the office. You can't
do every case. It's just one of these things. How
(12:06):
does this slip through the cracks?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Well, this is why only one in five, and I
think that is a low number of women who are
sexually assaulted, specifically on college campus, has come forward because
they understand this is what happens.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
She talked about how people a detective even said.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
To her, You're a pretty girl, you have your life
in front of you, and it's just so offensive that
even if they are believed and I'm not saying no
one didn't believe her, it was just they were thinking
it was probably.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Hard to be And I don't know is that that
where we are.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
There are challenges. They have to put their resources here
or there, They're limited. I don't know. It seems like
this would be a priority, but again we're on the outside.
We don't know what they have to do. But folks,
we told you about the one message that's getting the
headline that he sent her on Facebook that said, so
I rape you, but there were several more. Stay here,
we'll tell you what those other message, as you said,
(13:00):
and also we are going to let you hear what
the victim in this case.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Ms.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Keeler said herself about why we even got today.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
We continue our conversation today about this unbelievable case. Although
it is all too common, unfortunately, this one does at
least have an ending where there is some justice, but
perhaps not enough, and it certainly came a decade beyond
when it should have at this point, but thirty two
year old Ian clearly sentenced this week to two to
(13:43):
four years in prison for sexually assaulting then college freshman.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Her name was Shannon Keeler.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
She is now thirty years old, and she has spent
the better part of a decade trying to prove what
happened to her in fact happened to her. And it
took him actually reaching out via Facebook admitting it, and
even after that admission, it still took another four to
five years for him to actually have his day in court,
(14:11):
and her day in court, perhaps even more importantly, not happened.
This week talked about one of the messages sent her,
so I raped you, But that wasn't the only thing
that Ian clearly wrote to her.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Did I see right? That she hadn't checked her Facebook
messages and he had sent these over the course of
a couple of years, but she got them all at
one time to see that, right?
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Yes, that's the way I understood it too. She was
on vacation with boyfriend. You know you never check your dms.
I actually probably do it. I know you've I don't
think you've ever checked your dams. I probably only checked
mine maybe once every couple of months.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
She's doing it every couple of years. I get that
it's a lot to keep up with.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Yes, so she sees several of these messages. Another said
I'll never do it to anyone ever again. That's that's
a hell of a confession, is it not.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
He's basically wanting to admit to her because he's I mean,
I can only get inside his head imagining the only
reason why you would do this is relieve yourself of
some sort of guilt you're feeling.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
For getting away with it, so to speak. But you're
also trying to.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Get her not to pursue charges or not to use
this against you by telling her, please, please, I won't
do it again, like, don't turn me in, but I
won't do it again. But I want you to know
that I'm acknowledging it and I'm sorry for it.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But does he think that's going to go by putting
it in a Facebook message? I mean, how do you
think this is going to go?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
He's gotten away with it for so long.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
He's writing confession you know what? He sent them to her,
and he didn't hear back from her for years. Maybe
he forgot about it. I'll be damn another message. I
need to hear your voice. I don't know what that
was about, but that's another one she got. And then
another one on Facebook from the guy who raped her
when she was a freshman in college, saying I'll pray
(16:00):
for you. And that was a series of messages they
were able to then trace back to him. They confirmed
or at least went forward with charges. Still they had
to track him down. Finally got back here charged this
week after twelve years essentially, but.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
The point being crazy enough when she sends and gives
the police these Facebook messages, they went through the whole thing. Well,
we'd have to track down the IP address and doesn't
even look like he lives in the country anymore.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
I mean they were dragging their feet.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
They were almost like, ugh, paperwork, haven't you put this
to bed already? And really, truly, it wasn't until Ap
published story that things actually started to forward.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
How many folks maybe listening, maybe gone through that or
know somebody who had the same experience of trying to
get somebody or maybe somebody in law enforcement to believe
them to listen to what they're saying. That's tough, but
a story like this, did you go full wow. I
know this is one police department.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
But right it makes me feel so. I mean, look,
you have daughters.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
I think about Annalise, who's nineteen years old, and that's
about the age of this young woman. She might have
even been younger, a freshman first semester, she was probably
eighteen years.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Old, you know.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
And I just think about, like she described who she
was before that date in December, this excited, happy, go
lucky cross player she was.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
She had her whole life in front of her and
she still does.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
But what she thought of the world, how the world
was all robbed taken from her in that moment, at
that horrific hour, and the fact that no one stood
up for, no one vended her, no one looked out
for other women could have come into oh.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, decade.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
I think about the fact that, Okay, as far as
we know, no one else has come forward. But the
fact that he actually went after two different women that
same night because her friend has spoken out about her
experiences grabbing her.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
He assaulted to him that night.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
It's hard to.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Imagine, and perhaps maybe the guilt of doing it made
him stop, But it's hard to imagine that he just
suddenly became this kind person who stopped assaulting women.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
I don't know, but we don't know what he twelve years.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
It really hasn't been explained at all to anybody, and
I don't even know. I couldn't even find out why
he had been arrested in France in the first place.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
And while the arrest did come, as we say, a
robe so late. When it did happen, Shannon Keeler had
a quote here that kind of sums it all up.
At the time, She said, while I am moved to
tears by this result, which I have waited for over
(18:52):
seven years at the time for I am mindful that
this moment came because I went public with my story,
which no survivor should have to do in order to
obtain justice period that I mean, T shirts should be
printed with that on it. That is it. Nobody should
have to do this, just get justice.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
And maybe the other thing I wanted to point out
because this is also agreedious to me when I was
the whole story behind this, or young woman who I
have to applaud, What an amazing person to ever give
up to keep fighting because it's exhausting, I can say,
I want.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
To go away, I want to boast to bed. It
is what it is. I'm dumb thinking she pursued it.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
But when she found out after she get gets these messages,
goes to police and says, hey, look he's admitting it.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Like imagine the validation and.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Vindication you would feel in that moment, and then to
find out that they not only destroyed.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Her rape kit, but she was told it was ever tested.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
So here she is thinking full time, she's got this
in a proof that at the very least there was
sexual intercourse. I mean, you can't prove necessarily with just
the DNA evidence, but at least you can prove that
sexual and it's sexual encounter happened. Say it was against
your Well, she believes that it was never that. She's
(20:13):
just saying, that's how little I was regarded. That's how
that's what little importance my story was to them.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
My experience was law enforce.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
That is a sad, sad statement to any woman out
there who feels like they can.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Turn police when they're assaulted or justice.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
It is a tough story. You applaud what she did,
but your heart breaks that she had to do it.
This is great that she's getting justice. She should not
have gone through this, and this story does nothing, in
my opinion, to help other women come forward.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
No it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
This is and the judge giving him two years less
than the defense was even asking for because he was
such a good guy for admitting he raped a woman.
I have a major problem with that as well. It
was I just feel like this woman just I'm so
happy that he is behind bars. I am so happy
for her that she got someb bit of justice, but
it's still appalling.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
All right, Well, folks, we uh, this was one that
jumped out at us that we thought you'd be interested
as well, so I wanted to wanted to share, but
as always, we appreciate you listening with us on DJ
Holmes on Behalf My Dear Amy Robach. We'll talk to
you as soon
Hey there, folks. It is Tuesday, October the twenty first,
and a man was just sentenced this week for a
sexual assault he committed twelve years ago. And it took
his victim doing her own investigation to get this crime solved.
And it all came down to him make it a
(00:23):
confession on Facebook and you know what it said, So
I raped you with that. Welcome to this episode of
Amy and TJ Roapes. That's getting a lot of headlines
the fact that he wrote that message, it was on Facebook.
But this is an awful story of a woman having
to solve her own damn rape.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Well, here's the deal. She knew who.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Her attacker was almost immediately. She did all the right things.
She texted for help as it was happening, She had
her friends come over right after it happened, She went
to the police, had a rape, and and did everything
a rape victim is supposed to do to prove her case.
(01:05):
And even after her assailant sent her that message in
twenty nineteen, it still took years before he was actually found,
arrested and held accountable.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
This story is wild. You just went through all those steps.
It's exactly what they tell women to do. And it's
also anytime we do have a case, oftentimes that a
defense will go after the fact, well why does she
wait so long to report, or why didn't she tell
anybody immediately? And all of those things. We know, those
things come up, and this was a case where she
(01:40):
did exactly exactly what everyone would have told a woman
in this position to do, and still it took this long.
I think that's the.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You applaud her for what she did, but man, it
is sad that she had to do it.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I read through.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I was not aware of this, but there have been
news out there, specifically the AP, the Associated Press, who
has been following her story for years now, and they
actually said it wasn't until they did a profile in
twenty twenty one interviewing her about these Facebook messages, about
the fact that she went back sent them back to police,
and it was weeks after they published that article that boil.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
All of a sudden an indictment showed up.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
That's a shame.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
That is a shame.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So we'll go back. This is twenty thirteen. This young lady. Again,
she's been out there and been outspoken about this, so
we can speak on who she is, but her name
is Shannon Keeler. Would you say she's thirty years old? Now?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Thirty years old?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Now okay, But she was a freshman at Gettysburg College
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Now the incident, she describes that nice.
She's stuck to this story. But it was a rape
in twenty thirteen, after she had gone to a park.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yes, and this was all verified by multiple witnesses because
there was a another young woman with her. He who first
had been i would say, approached by and bothered by
this man who they described as this creepy.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Man at this party. Right, they were dancing, but he
was going a little too far and even grabbed the woman, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Groping her heyes, grabbing her breast, grabbing her but all
of that.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
So she was going to this other woman, Shannon, they
met at the party's kind of like help me get
away from this guy. What ended up happening was the
guy who they described as the creepy man, turned his
attention and perhaps affection towards Shannon and actually followed her
as they were leaving the party. She actually asked a
male friend to walk her home because she was concerned
(03:40):
about this guy is following her. And he, according to
the man who was sort of a friend who was
walking her home, asked him to leave so that he
could continue talking with her, and they said go away, leave,
so he left, but he showed back up once she
got back into her dorm.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
He actually knocked on the.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Door, the doorbell when she said she and immediately just
panic at the time. So sexual assault, rape takes place there.
Did you read this detail? She said?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
He cried, Yes, afterwards, he cried after he raped her.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
To who knows what that possible. That's just an odd
and almost sinister detail to hear. But he eventually leaves,
leaves school even but she gets with her friends. She
goes back and spends the night with them. But she
did everything along the way. She told her parents, She
went to police, she did the rape kit, she documented,
(04:35):
she did everything, but but no arrest was made because
they were telling her, you hate to say it, alcohol,
alcohol was involved.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Alcoholm She had been drinking at a party and they
had the rape kit.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
They actually had the dinny as she said.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
She remembers the nurse saying, we got something, So she
knows that they actually had physical evidence of well was
left behind from a rape. I mean it was sperm
some sort of DNA from the assailant, and she thought, okay,
I've done that part. But once they then went police,
they said, hey, there was alcoholic.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Bolics of this difficult situation.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
They reached out this guy reportedly and by email. The
email he denied it, and so they were kind of like, well,
it's a he said.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
She said, so there's nothing we can do.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
That's it's tough to hear those details. Now. We're going
to get more into that story in the second. But
all of this again, this was in twenty thirteen. She
would send police updates of witnesses and the phone numbers,
even of friends. Hey this is somebody you could talk to.
She got pushback, deny, deny, denied every time. Then you go,
like you said, ropes. I think it was twenty nineteen
(05:50):
the first messages started coming in. She got several Facebook messages.
One of them was from him saying, so I raped you.
She then takes those messages to police. She then does
the profile with the associated Press. Then they take this
up robes and they say, okay, yes, we're going to
(06:11):
issue a warrant for his arrest, but where the hell
is he?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
They can't find him. Turns out this man his name
is Ian Cleary. By the way, he is thirty two
years old. He went on to another college in his
home state of California, graduated, got his master's degree, worked
for Tesla, and he was overseas for whatever reason. Ultimately,
and I never figured out, did you see what? He
(06:35):
was actually arrested for something completely different, something.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
That I yes, he's nothing to do with anything.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
Silent, But because he was arrested in France, his name
popped up and they were able to find him. In
twenty twenty four, he was finally arrested. So we are
talking eleven years after the rape, so.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
They finally get him back. He did plead guilty in July,
but he was just sentenced this week, sentenced to two
to four years in jail, two to four years for
this assault. Again, he's been free for the past twelve
but now he's going to get two to four years
in prison. You were kind of I guess it's a
(07:19):
little head scratching, but they to some I guess it
might be. But the judge did take into consideration that
he did apologize and confess to what he.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Had done, but he denied it four years left her
twisting in the wind, unbelieved by a lot of people
and probably feeling revictimized for that decade plus by this system,
by the people who refuse to prosecute. She says. She
remembers in twenty fifteen there was a two year I
guess window of opportunities charges. She remembers meeting with the
(07:49):
detective or whoever was in charge of her case, and
he said, yes, sorry, we're done, and she still didn't
let it go and was trying to move on when
the Facebook messages came about here's the thing that actually
really got to do both sides sense and the prosecution
he was well, he pleaded guilty.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
But when that that guilty plea.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Was put in this awaiting sentencing, both sides asked for
four to six.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Years, and yet the judge went, law, look, they have
discretion and maybe he saw something in this man. Who knows.
But the judge said this, and I don't know if
you have a problem, you know what, let me not
set it up that way. This is just what he said.
The defendant has admitted his guilt, he's come forward and
(08:34):
even though ten to eleven alarming years have passed in
the meantime, we wouldn't be here today but for his
hope for some kind of forgiveness and contrition.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
I think this woman had been through so much because
of this man. He chose to do what he did,
he chose to deny it, he chose to leave the country,
and because his guilt was nagging on him, or supposed
to applauded him and were supposed to give him some
sort of leniency for that. Look, I think four to
six years was the appropriate sentence that both sides agreed upon.
(09:08):
So for the judge to go a full two years
less than what the defense was even asking to me
is offensive.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
It just is.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
And he mentioned, you know, I have daughters and granddaughters,
and he mentioned the judge.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yes, he brought that into it, But.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
I just can't stand behind that decision woman as a mother,
I just don't think that because someone admitted something, and yes,
I appreciate that, And four to six years still seems
like not very many years given what he did and
what he was willing to do to somebody. I mean,
he thought this out, This wasn't some random thing like
(09:47):
he made choices each step of play. Why should he
not have to pay for his crime and.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
He got eleven three years right that the judge had
me up. But I am not judgment. It's not my
job to do. It's this judges thing to do. And
if I would have just heard two to four like
oh okay and going on. But when he said that
we wouldn't be here today but for his hope for
(10:13):
some kind of forgiveness and contrition, that's as if we
are only here today by the good deed of this man.
That is offensive to the young lady. It's offensive to
a woman who we are. There were a lot of
hopes that we could have put on the police charging
(10:37):
the guy listening to her. We're acting as if the
only option for this woman getting justice was this guy
coming forward. No, that's not right.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I knew who he was. She knew who he was.
The DNA proved who he was.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
I know, you got to prove a case, but that
one things for the victim to say, we're only here
because he was a good enough guy. Damn that sting.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
It really does, and it takes away any responsibility that
the prosecution has. And look, a lot of folks now
are looking at this case and even looking back, I
understand from the outside looking in.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I don't know what it's like internally to be in.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
A DA's office figure out what to prosecute, what not
to prosecute. But I understand generally that rape is among
and sexual assault is among the hardest or among the
hardest cases to prove period.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I get that. But this system let this young woman down.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
She had eyewitnesses, she had DNA, she had so many
things that they wouldn't even consider charges against this slan.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
She did the work. I mean she did her own
I mean she handed it to him. Here, guys, here
is are you witnesses, let's knocket out. Look, I'm not
I don't want to take on the challenge or take
on what prosecutors and a police have to do. That
that's a hell of a job. And I you don't
have unlimited resources and people in the office. You can't
do every case. It's just one of these things. How
(12:06):
does this slip through the cracks?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Well, this is why only one in five, and I
think that is a low number of women who are
sexually assaulted, specifically on college campus, has come forward because
they understand this is what happens.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
She talked about how people a detective even said.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
To her, You're a pretty girl, you have your life
in front of you, and it's just so offensive that
even if they are believed and I'm not saying no
one didn't believe her, it was just they were thinking
it was probably.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Hard to be And I don't know is that that
where we are.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
There are challenges. They have to put their resources here
or there, They're limited. I don't know. It seems like
this would be a priority, but again we're on the outside.
We don't know what they have to do. But folks,
we told you about the one message that's getting the
headline that he sent her on Facebook that said, so
I rape you, but there were several more. Stay here,
we'll tell you what those other message, as you said,
(13:00):
and also we are going to let you hear what
the victim in this case.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Ms.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Keeler said herself about why we even got today.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
We continue our conversation today about this unbelievable case. Although
it is all too common, unfortunately, this one does at
least have an ending where there is some justice, but
perhaps not enough, and it certainly came a decade beyond
when it should have at this point, but thirty two
year old Ian clearly sentenced this week to two to
(13:43):
four years in prison for sexually assaulting then college freshman.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Her name was Shannon Keeler.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
She is now thirty years old, and she has spent
the better part of a decade trying to prove what
happened to her in fact happened to her. And it
took him actually reaching out via Facebook admitting it, and
even after that admission, it still took another four to
five years for him to actually have his day in court,
(14:11):
and her day in court, perhaps even more importantly, not happened.
This week talked about one of the messages sent her,
so I raped you, But that wasn't the only thing
that Ian clearly wrote to her.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Did I see right? That she hadn't checked her Facebook
messages and he had sent these over the course of
a couple of years, but she got them all at
one time to see that, right?
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Yes, that's the way I understood it too. She was
on vacation with boyfriend. You know you never check your dms.
I actually probably do it. I know you've I don't
think you've ever checked your dams. I probably only checked
mine maybe once every couple of months.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
She's doing it every couple of years. I get that
it's a lot to keep up with.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Yes, so she sees several of these messages. Another said
I'll never do it to anyone ever again. That's that's
a hell of a confession, is it not.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
He's basically wanting to admit to her because he's I mean,
I can only get inside his head imagining the only
reason why you would do this is relieve yourself of
some sort of guilt you're feeling.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
For getting away with it, so to speak. But you're
also trying to.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Get her not to pursue charges or not to use
this against you by telling her, please, please, I won't
do it again, like, don't turn me in, but I
won't do it again. But I want you to know
that I'm acknowledging it and I'm sorry for it.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But does he think that's going to go by putting
it in a Facebook message? I mean, how do you
think this is going to go?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
He's gotten away with it for so long.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
He's writing confession you know what? He sent them to her,
and he didn't hear back from her for years. Maybe
he forgot about it. I'll be damn another message. I
need to hear your voice. I don't know what that
was about, but that's another one she got. And then
another one on Facebook from the guy who raped her
when she was a freshman in college, saying I'll pray
(16:00):
for you. And that was a series of messages they
were able to then trace back to him. They confirmed
or at least went forward with charges. Still they had
to track him down. Finally got back here charged this
week after twelve years essentially, but.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
The point being crazy enough when she sends and gives
the police these Facebook messages, they went through the whole thing. Well,
we'd have to track down the IP address and doesn't
even look like he lives in the country anymore.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
I mean they were dragging their feet.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
They were almost like, ugh, paperwork, haven't you put this
to bed already? And really, truly, it wasn't until Ap
published story that things actually started to forward.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
How many folks maybe listening, maybe gone through that or
know somebody who had the same experience of trying to
get somebody or maybe somebody in law enforcement to believe
them to listen to what they're saying. That's tough, but
a story like this, did you go full wow. I
know this is one police department.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
But right it makes me feel so. I mean, look,
you have daughters.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
I think about Annalise, who's nineteen years old, and that's
about the age of this young woman. She might have
even been younger, a freshman first semester, she was probably
eighteen years.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Old, you know.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
And I just think about, like she described who she
was before that date in December, this excited, happy, go
lucky cross player she was.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
She had her whole life in front of her and
she still does.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
But what she thought of the world, how the world
was all robbed taken from her in that moment, at
that horrific hour, and the fact that no one stood
up for, no one vended her, no one looked out
for other women could have come into oh.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, decade.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
I think about the fact that, Okay, as far as
we know, no one else has come forward. But the
fact that he actually went after two different women that
same night because her friend has spoken out about her
experiences grabbing her.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
He assaulted to him that night.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
It's hard to.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Imagine, and perhaps maybe the guilt of doing it made
him stop, But it's hard to imagine that he just
suddenly became this kind person who stopped assaulting women.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
I don't know, but we don't know what he twelve years.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
It really hasn't been explained at all to anybody, and
I don't even know. I couldn't even find out why
he had been arrested in France in the first place.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
And while the arrest did come, as we say, a
robe so late. When it did happen, Shannon Keeler had
a quote here that kind of sums it all up.
At the time, She said, while I am moved to
tears by this result, which I have waited for over
(18:52):
seven years at the time for I am mindful that
this moment came because I went public with my story,
which no survivor should have to do in order to
obtain justice period that I mean, T shirts should be
printed with that on it. That is it. Nobody should
have to do this, just get justice.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
And maybe the other thing I wanted to point out
because this is also agreedious to me when I was
the whole story behind this, or young woman who I
have to applaud, What an amazing person to ever give
up to keep fighting because it's exhausting, I can say,
I want.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
To go away, I want to boast to bed. It
is what it is. I'm dumb thinking she pursued it.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
But when she found out after she get gets these messages,
goes to police and says, hey, look he's admitting it.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Like imagine the validation and.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Vindication you would feel in that moment, and then to
find out that they not only destroyed.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Her rape kit, but she was told it was ever tested.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
So here she is thinking full time, she's got this
in a proof that at the very least there was
sexual intercourse. I mean, you can't prove necessarily with just
the DNA evidence, but at least you can prove that
sexual and it's sexual encounter happened. Say it was against
your Well, she believes that it was never that. She's
(20:13):
just saying, that's how little I was regarded. That's how
that's what little importance my story was to them.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
My experience was law enforce.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
That is a sad, sad statement to any woman out
there who feels like they can.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Turn police when they're assaulted or justice.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
It is a tough story. You applaud what she did,
but your heart breaks that she had to do it.
This is great that she's getting justice. She should not
have gone through this, and this story does nothing, in
my opinion, to help other women come forward.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
No it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
This is and the judge giving him two years less
than the defense was even asking for because he was
such a good guy for admitting he raped a woman.
I have a major problem with that as well. It
was I just feel like this woman just I'm so
happy that he is behind bars. I am so happy
for her that she got someb bit of justice, but
it's still appalling.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
All right, Well, folks, we uh, this was one that
jumped out at us that we thought you'd be interested
as well, so I wanted to wanted to share, but
as always, we appreciate you listening with us on DJ
Holmes on Behalf My Dear Amy Robach. We'll talk to
you as soon
Hosts And Creators
Lauren Zima
Chris Harrison
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