American man who sent 'so I raped you' message after assaulting woman arrested in France

An American mann accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said "So I raped you" has been arrested in France after a three-year search.

The accused was arrested in April and will remain in custody until the completion of extradition proceedings, French authorities said.

A prosecutor in Metz, over 300 km east of Paris, confirmed on Tuesday (May 14) said that the accused Ian Thomas Cleary, 31, hailing from Saratoga, California, remains in French custody.

End of three-year-long international search

Cleary was the subject ofan international search since authorities in the US state of Pennsylvania issued a 2021 warrant, weeks after the US media reported on the purported reluctance of local prosecutors to pursue sex crimes committed in the university campuses.

Cleary was detained on the street in Metz on April 24 as part of a police check.

Cleary claimed he "arrived in France two or three years ago" from Albania and had only recently come to Metz, but did not have housing there.

According to Cleary's online posts, he had previously spent time in France.

He has familial ties to California and Maryland. His father is a tech executive in Silicon Valley, while his mother has lived in Baltimore.

What is Ian Thomas Cleary accused of?

According to an arrest warrant issued in the United States, Cleary is accused of sneaking into the dorm of an 18-year-old Gettysburg College student at a party and sexually assaulting her while she texted friends for help.

At the time of the sex crime, he was a 20-year-old Gettysburg student. After the alleged crime, he did not return to campus.

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The accuser reportedly had a rape exam done the same day she was assaulted in 2013. She spent years urging officials to file charges. She went to authorities again in 2021 after discovering the Facebook messages that seemed to come from Cleary’s account.

"So I raped you," the sender had written in a string of messages.

"I’ll never do it to anyone ever again."

"I need to hear your voice."

"I'll pray for you."

Police verified that the Facebook account used to send the messages belonged to Ian Cleary, and a consequent search for him ensued, leading to his eventual detention.

(With inputs from agencies)