A Texas man accused of stalking and harassing Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark pleaded guilty to stalking and harassment on Monday.
55-year-old Michael Lewis pleaded guilty to Stalking, a Level 6 Felony; and Harassment, a Class B Misdemeanor, for sending quite a few threats and sexually express messages to Clark by way of his social media accounts between December 12, 2024, and January 11, 2025.
“If they informed you to keep away, and informed you not to go to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, you did not hear, they usually informed you to cease sending messages… No one sends 800 messages,” mentioned Marion County Judge Angela Dow Davis to Lewis in court docket. “She isn’t requesting a friendship or a relationship together with her; she’s doing her job, and he or she needs you to avoid her.”
Lewis was arrested and charged on January 12 in Indianapolis.
Lewis will serve two and a half years within the Indiana Department of Correction, the utmost penalty for a Level 6 Felony. The settlement secured a no-contact order for Clark and court-ordered protections for varied places in Indianapolis, together with Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Fever occasions and Pacers Organization occasions.
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Lewis will get credit score for time served and different credit, so his precise time within the DOC will likely be lower than a 12 months and a half. The choose additionally advisable that Lewis return to Texas upon his launch.
According to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation uncovered Lewis’ latest messages got here from IP addresses in Indianapolis, and he was staying at a lodge within the 100 block of N. Market Street.
On January 8, Lewis was visited by officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police regarding the messages. Lewis informed police it was “an imaginary relationship.” The messages continued regardless of the encounter with regulation enforcement.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears launched the next assertion:
“This decision ensures that the defendant is held accountable for his threatening actions, the concern he instilled, and the disruption he induced. He will now spend the following two and a half years within the Department of Correction, and the sufferer will likely be in a position to have peace of thoughts whereas specializing in what issues to her.”
This story was initially printed by Marguerite Incardone at Scripps News Indianapolis.
