A Texas man faces two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty on July 28 to sending numerous threats and sexually explicit messages to WNBA star Caitlin Clark.
Michael Lewis, 55, of Denton, a surburb of Dallas, messaged Caitlin Clark from his social media accounts beginning in December 2024 until January 2025, officials said. He received the highest maximum sentence possible for his felony charge, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office said.
Lewis has a no-contact order with Clark for the duration of the sentence and has agreed to stay away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse and all Indiana Fever events, according to court records.
What did Lewis tell Caitlin Clark?
An arrest affidavit detailing the case shows more than 15 messages sent from Lewis' X account to Clark. Many of the messages were sexually explicit and some were violent.
"Got banned from caitbridge (sic). Im sorry. Bu maybe I go to ur road games..its ok right?" one of the posts read, according to the affidavit.
Federal investigators tracked the messages from IP addresses at a hotel in the 100 block of West Market Street, roughly a mile from where the Fever play, and at the Indianapolis Public Library's Central Library downtown.
"Lewis’s presence in Indianapolis was especially concerning given that he is a Texas resident," detectives said in the affidavit.
Indianapolis police said they confronted Lewis about the messages at the hotel on Jan. 8 and Lewis responded he sent them "just the same reason everybody makes posts." He at first denied making the threatening posts, but then added it "was just an imaginary relationship."
The messages continued after the police visit, the affidavit states.
Clark told police she has been fearful since learning about the messages and even altered her public appearances and movement because of them.
"No matter how prominent a figure you are, this case shows that online harassment can quickly escalate to actual threats of physical violence,” Prosecutor Ryan Mears said. "It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in these cases, which is why many don't. In doing so, the victim is setting an example for all women who deserve to live and work in Indy without the threat of sexual violence.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Texas man stalking Caitlin Clark pleads guilty, receives over two years
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