A Texas man has been arrested and charged after stalking and sending violated messages to Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark.
Michael Thomas Lewis, 55, of Denton, Texas, was arrested on Sunday and has been charged with one count of stalking threatening sexual battery or death, which is a Level 5 felony.
According to court documents obtained by Fox59 in Indianapolis, Lewis sent sexually violent messages to Clark through the social media app X and continued to do so after law enforcement was alerted. The situation got more serious when Lewis traveled to Indianapolis to be closer to Clark.
“Been driving around your house 3x a day,” he messaged her according to Fox59. “But don’t call the law just yet.”
Clark became fearful when Lewis came to Indianapolis and told her that he was going to get tickets right behind the Fever bench.
“I’m getting tickets,” he said in one message. “I’m sitting behind the bench.”
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears praised Clark for coming forward about the messages.
“It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in these cases, which is why many don’t,” Mears said. “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.”
Lewis, meanwhile, maintains his innocence. He claimed that he traveled to Indianapolis on vacation and that the messages to Clark were just “an imagination,” a “fantasy-type thing” and “a joke.”
Lewis could face up to six years in prison on a Level 5 felony if he is found guilty in a court of law.
