Michael Clark Thompson

Michael Clark Thompson was a misogynstic hebephilic serial rapist, abductor, and indirect killer who appeared in Season Eleven of Criminal Minds.

Background
Thompson's mother died in childbirth, and his father Nate remarried a total of five times. Nate was a misogynist who abused his wives, and these tendencies were passed on to his son. As an adult, Thompson became a repairman, founded his own business, and serviced several people. In his personal life, he developed severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and an obsession to start a family. One of his clients was an elderly woman named Clara Riggins, who was in frail health. Her condition led to her depending on him, and Thompson took advantage of her trustworthiness. When she died of natural causes, he buried her body in the backyard and took the house as his own, posing as Clara's grandson. In private, he converted Clara's basement into a torture chamber and began planning to abduct girls, being under the twisted belief that he would start a family. Thompson first started with Amelia Hawthorne, a girl in Indianapolis, in 2001. He physically and sexually abused her, and also managed to brainwash her into believing she was his daughter. Through her, he fathered two girls, who he named Lily and Jasmine. Thompson then abducted two more girls, Sheila Woods and Gina Bryant, over the next five years with Amelia's help, and abused them as well. He tried to father a child through Sheila, but she suffered a miscarriage.

Modus Operandi
Targeting eight-year-old Caucasian girls, Thompson lured them to his van in some sort of ruse (presumably by catching their attention with a puppy and then promising treats, like he did with Gina Bryant). Once they were at the van, he knocked them out, forced them inside, and drove them to Clara Riggins' house. There, Thompson held the girls captive in a basement in the homes for years, all the while physically and sexually abusing them, and also torturing them in a variety of ways. He would also make them wear gown-like outfits and would give them names based on flowers.

Profile
As a child, Michael was raised by his father, who married multiple women. In each case, Michael's stepmothers filed for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and/or adultery. His father had a predilection for prostitutes and was arrested for assaulting one. Children will do what they witness, which might explain Michael's extreme misogynistic tendencies and his violent streak. It is not uncommon for kids to act or behave in the same way as their parents. He is smart and manipulative. He not only took advantage to the woman whose home he used to hold his victims captive, but he somehow managed to hold three girls hostage there for over a decade, which takes dedication and effort. His crimes were important to him, like a compulsion. He gets off on having absolute power and control.

Real-Life Comparison
Thompson is based on serial rapist Ariel Castro and was even compared to him by Rossi. Both abducted three females (one of whom was even named Gina) and held them captive in the basement of a home for the span of around a decade, during which time he physically and sexually abused them. One of their victims suffered at least one miscarriage, while another of their victims gave birth to at least one baby who was also held captive. Their crimes were eventually uncovered when one of the victims managed to escape, which led to the rescue of at least one other victim.

Known Victims

 * 2001, Indianapolis, Indiana: Amelia Hawthorne
 * 2001(?), St. Louis, Missouri: Lily and Jasmine Hawthorne
 * 2001-2006, St. Louis, Missouri: Sheila Woods
 * 2006, St. Louis, Missouri: Gina Bryant

Appearances

 * Season Eleven
 * "Hostage"