And then goes into hiding: American student admits to rape on Facebook

class=”sc-29f61514-0 icZBHN”>

The last day of the first semester at Gettysburg College was over and a big party was in store. Shannon K.* (18) went out to dinner with friends on December 14, 2013 and met Ian C.*. While dancing, the student rejected his advances and went home with an acquaintance who accompanied her to the dormitory so that she felt safe. She didn’t want to go alone.

But when she got home, there was a sudden knock on her door. It was Ian C. who followed her. “He refused to leave and then raped me. Then I started crying and then went home,” Shannon recalled in an interview with RTL.

He’ll never do it again

The young American woman immediately reported the rape to the police, but no charges were filed. “In my opinion, there was enough evidence at that point to charge him, but that obviously did not reflect the prosecutor’s assessment,” said Shannon’s attorney Andrea Levy.

More or less successfully, Shannon focused on other things in life and tried to forget the bad night. Completely unexpectedly, the now 28-year-old discovered a six-month-old Facebook message from her rapist in July 2020: He confessed to the crime and promised her never to do anything like that again.

Rapist has been untraceable for three years

Thanks to the new evidence, the Public Prosecution Service is finally filing charges. But there’s a problem: For three years, there has been no clue about Ian C.’s whereabouts – neither credit card payments nor social media posts. As Shannon’s lawyer explains to RTL, the police believe Ian is probably in Europe. “Police believe he is using a false name or identity wherever he is.”

Shannon is convinced that after a long time she can finally get justice. If the fugitive is caught, he faces a minimum of ten years in prison. (gs)

*Names known

Source: Blick