Man Sentenced for Harassing Caitlin Clark
A 55-year-old man from Texas, who maintained an “imaginary relationship” with WNBA star Caitlin Clark, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison. The sentence came after he pleaded guilty to stalking the Indiana Fever player. Michael Lewis, a resident of Denton, Texas, reached an agreement with Marion County prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to one count of stalking and one misdemeanor count of harassment. He will be given credit for time served at the Marion County Adult Detention Center since his arrest. In addition, Lewis is prohibited from approaching the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Hinkle Fieldhouse, Fever events, and events of the Indiana Pacers organization. He was also ordered to have no contact with Clark, 23, and will be denied internet access during his sentence.The judge recommended that Lewis, who claimed during the court proceedings that the end of the world was near, receive mental health treatment. “You can’t help yourself until you get help,” the judge told Lewis. Lewis was arrested on January 12th after authorities alleged he sent hundreds of “threats and sexually explicit messages” to Clark via X between December 12, 2024, and January 11, 2025. The Instagram post description: “I was driving around your house 3 times a day,” Lewis messaged Clark, according to court documents. “But don’t call the police yet, the public can go through Gainbridge… also known as Caitlin’s field.” “I’m getting tickets. I’ll sit behind the bench,” said another message. “They said I was sending threatening text messages… but the only thought in my mind was… CAITLIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN,” it read in another message. According to court documents, other messages were of a sexually violent nature. The FBI traced the IP addresses of Lewis’s messages to a hotel in downtown Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Public Library. Indianapolis police conducted a welfare check on Lewis, according to court documents, and he told officers that he was in “an imaginary relationship” with Clark and that he had come to Indianapolis on vacation. The messages to Clark continued after the initial police visit. Clark, the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, has played only 13 games this season due to injuries and is currently out with a right groin strain. In December, a 40-year-old man from Oregon pleaded guilty to harassing Paige Bueckers and received a suspended sentence of one year and three years of probation.This resolution ensures that the defendant is held accountable for their threatening actions, the fear they instilled, and the disruption they caused. Now they will spend the next two and a half years in the Department of Correction and the victim will be able to rest easy while focusing on what matters to them.
Ryan Mears, Marion County Prosecutor
