“It was supposed to be in two years.”
Imagine Dawn Hillyer’s surprise when she happened to learn that the man convicted of stalking her was going to get out of prison last week — instead of in 2017.
“My next chapter was in two years. Not today. Not Thursday,” she said.
Michael McClellan was convicted in 2012 of stalking Hillyer.
They had dated for a while after meeting on a computer-dating site. But a few months after they broke up, McClellan began calling and texting her incessantly. According to testimony at his trial, McClellan used his knowledge of computer systems to hack Hillyer’s email and leave threatening voice mails for her and co-workers. His ex-wife testified to a similar pattern of harassment.
As reported last week, the prosecutor’s office had warned Hillyer that as long as he got credit for good behavior, McClellan was likely to only serve half his 10-year sentence. That would have meant a release date in 2017.
But McClellan was able to earn a bachelor’s degree from Grace College, which required the Indiana Department of Correction to award him even more time-served credit. So instead of serving five years, McClellan only had to serve three years, requiring the DOC to release him last week.
“We found out purely by accident,” said Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards. The Indiana Department of Corrections contacted her office to ask about conditions of his release. Prosecutors then called to alert Hillyer.
Spokesman Doug Garrison said the DOC sent Hillyer an email when it became clear that McClellan would be released, though Hillyer said she did not receive it.
The problem, Garrison explained, is that the state law that requires the prison system to notify crime victims 45 days before the release of a perpetrator doesn’t cover stalking victims.
So when McClellan received extra credit by earning his degree, the DOC could not delay his release to ensure that Hillyer had 45 days’ notice.
“It seems like it’s just an oversight,” Garrison said. “Apparently, (stalking) just got left out of the law.”
If stalking were covered, the prison would be able to extend a prisoner’s stay to ensure that victims receive notification.
That seems like an easy fix for the legislature to take up.
— The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne