A Texas man was sentenced to more than two years in prison Monday after he pleaded guilty to stalking and harassing WNBA star Caitlin Clark, officials said.
Michael Lewis, 55, was sentenced to 2.5 years for the stalking charge and was given a 180-day suspended sentence for harassment, a spokesman for Indiana’s Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Lewis, who has been incarcerated at an Indianapolis jail since his arrest in January, will have a time-served credit of 197 days applied toward his prison term, court records show.
Lewis was accused of sending a series of vulgar, sexually graphic messages to Clark on X, the social media platform, between December and January, prosecutors have said.
“This resolution ensures that the defendant is held accountable for his threatening actions, the fear he instilled, and the disruption he caused,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement Monday.
“He will now spend the next two and a half years in the Department of Corrections, and the victim will be able to have peace of mind while focusing on what matters to her,” Mears said.
A stay-away order was also issued for Indiana Fever events and Hinkle Fieldhouse, where Clark’s boyfriend, an assistant basketball coach for Butler University, works, the records show.
In a presentencing statement Monday, Lewis denied threatening Clark and said he had been trying to highlight security concerns for Clark, NBC affiliate WTHR reported.
“I want her to be safe,” he said, according to WTHR.
At one point, the judge presiding over the case interrupted Lewis’ statement and warned he was “going to talk himself out of a plea,” the station reported.
“You have to understand that as part of a plea deal, you are admitting responsibility,” the judge said, according to the station.
Clark, who was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever in last year’s WNBA draft, is college basketball’s all-time leading scorer.
Here are five things to know about Indiana Fever star and former Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark.