Man who sent Facebook message about committing a 2013 campus sexual assault pleads guilty

GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — An American extradited from France to face charges that he sexually assaulted a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 — and later sent her a Facebook message that said “So I raped you” — pleaded guilty Thursday.

Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault more than a decade after Shannon Keeler says he sneaked into her first-year dorm at Gettysburg College on the eve of winter break and assaulted her. Cleary's guilty plea was the first time she'd seen him since the assault.

“I had been thinking about this moment for 12 years,” said Keeler, who clenched her husband's hand as Cleary was led into court by deputies. She called it a surreal moment. A decade ago, a former prosecutor had declined the case.

“It’s taken a lot of twists and turns to get to this point,” said Keeler, now 30. “It took a lot of people doing the right thing to get us here.”

Judge Kevin Hess set an Oct. 20 sentencing date. The two sides proposed a four- to eight-year sentence, which the judge can accept or not.

Keeler, in interviews with The Associated Press, described her decade-long efforts to persuade authorities to pursue charges, starting hours after the assault.

She renewed the quest in 2021, after finding a series of disturbing Facebook messages from his account.

Cleary has been in custody since his arrest on minor, unrelated charges in Metz, France, in April 2024. A defense lawyer told the judge Thursday that Cleary experienced several mental health episodes there and was hospitalized around the time he sent the Facebook messages in 2019.

Cleary left Gettysburg after the assault and finished college in Silicon Valley, California, where he'd grown up. He then got a master’s degree and worked for Tesla before moving overseas, where he spent time writing medieval fiction, according to his online posts.

The AP published an investigation on the case and on the broader reluctance among prosecutors to pursue campus sex assault charges in May 2021. An indictment followed weeks later.

Authorities in the U.S. and Europe tried to track Cleary down for the next three years, but seemed unable to follow his trail, online or otherwise.

In court Thursday, defense lawyer John Abom said Cleary was homeless at times and unaware of the charges. Adams County District Attorney Brian Sinnett on Thursday said he has his doubts, but cannot prove that Cleary was on the run, so it's unlikely to be an issue at sentencing.

The second-degree sexual assault charge carries a maximum 10 years in prison. His family members have declined to comment on the case and have not attended his court hearings. Abom also declined to comment on Cleary's behalf Thursday.

The AP typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Keeler has done.

“I hope that we as a society, the institutions around us, can make truly successful legal outcomes more viable for victims,” she said after the plea.

"It starts with listening to victims and making sure their voices are heard,” she said, “even if the system’s slow to catch up.”

Sexual assault suspect Ian Cleary departs from the Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Shannon Keeler departs from Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sexual assault suspect Ian Cleary departs from the Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Shannon Keeler, left, departs from Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

FILE - Sexual assault suspect Ian Cleary departs from the Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)

Shannon Keeler speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Shannon Keeler speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Shannon Keeler poses for a photograph in view of Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Shannon Keeler speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sexual assault suspect Ian Cleary departs from the Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Shannon Keeler departs from Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sexual assault suspect Ian Cleary departs from the Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Shannon Keeler, left, departs from Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

FILE - Sexual assault suspect Ian Cleary departs from the Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it's once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026.

The multi-day event, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, kicks off this week in Las Vegas, where advances across industries like robotics, healthcare, vehicles, wearables, gaming and more are set to be on display.

Artificial intelligence will be anchored in nearly everything, again, as the tech industry explores offerings consumers will want to buy. AI industry heavyweight Jensen Huang will be taking the stage to showcase Nvidia's latest productivity solutions, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will keynote to “share her vision for delivering future AI solutions.” Expect AI to come up in other keynotes, like from Lenovo's CEO, Yuanqing Yang.

The AI industry is out in full force tackling issues in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on changing individual health habits to treat conditions — such as Beyond Medicine's prescription app focused on a particular jaw disorder — or addressing data shortages in subjects such as breast milk production.

Expect more unveils around domestic robots too. Korean tech giant LG already has announced it will show off a helper bot named “ CLOiD,” which allegedly will handle a range of household tasks. Hyundai also is announcing a major push on robotics and manufacturing advancements. Extended reality, basically a virtual training ground for robots and other physical AI, is also in the buzz around CES.

In 2025, more than 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, regions, and territories attended the CES. Organizers expect around the same numbers for this year’s show, with more than 3,500 exhibitors across the floor space this week.

The AP spoke with CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro about what to expect for CES 2026. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Well, we have a lot at this year's show.

Obviously, using AI in a way that makes sense for people. We’re seeing a lot in robotics. More robots and humanoid-looking robots than we’ve ever had before.

We also see longevity in health, there’s a lot of focus on that. All sorts of wearable devices for almost every part of the body. Technology is answering healthcare’s gaps very quickly and that’s great for everyone.

Mobility is big with not only self-driving vehicles but also with boats and drones and all sorts of other ways of getting around. That’s very important.

And of course, content creation is always very big.

You are seeing humanoid robots right now. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.

But yes, there are more and more humanoid robots. And when we talk about CES 5, 10, 15, 20 years now, we’re going to see an even larger range of humanoid robots.

Obviously, last year we saw a great interest in them. The number one product of the show was a little robotic dog that seems so life-like and fun, and affectionate for people that need that type of affection.

But of course, the humanoid robots are just one aspect of that industry. There’s a lot of specialization in robot creation, depending on what you want the robot to do. And robots can do many things that humans can’t.

AI is the future of creativity.

Certainly AI itself may be arguably creative, but the human mind is so unique that you definitely get new ideas that way. So I think the future is more of a hybrid approach, where content creators are working with AI to craft variations on a theme or to better monetize what they have to a broader audience.

We’re seeing all sorts of different devices that are implementing AI. But we have a special focus at this show, for the first time, on the disability community. Verizon set this whole stage up where we have all different ways of taking this technology and having it help people with disabilities and older people.

Well, there’s definitely no bubble when it comes to what AI can do. And what AI can do is perform miracles and solve fundamental human problems in food production and clean air and clean water. Obviously in healthcare, it’s gonna be overwhelming.

But this was like the internet itself. There was a lot of talk about a bubble, and there actually was a bubble. The difference is that in late 1990s there were basically were no revenue models. Companies were raising a lot of money with no plans for revenue.

These AI companies have significant revenues today, and companies are investing in it.

What I’m more concerned about, honestly, is not Wall Street and a bubble. Others can be concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting enough energy to process all that AI. And at this show, for the first time, we have a Korean company showing the first ever small-scale nuclear-powered energy creation device. We expect more and more of these people rushing to fill this gap because we need the energy, we need it clean and we need a kind of all-of-the-above solution.

A Coro breastfeeding monitor is pictured at a Coroflo booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Yonbo X1 robots are pictured at the X-Orgin booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

A Tombot robotic puppy is pictured at a Tombot booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

People arrive at the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)