A New York financier accused of raping a 14-year-old girl looks drastically different after spending a year behind bars.
Michael Olson appeared in court clean-shaven with a buzz cut and a youthful appearance just a year ago, but on Tuesday he looked dramatically different after spending a year in jail.
The 55-year-old financier appeared haggard with a long, uncut graying beard and his once closely cropped hair now flowing in waves to his neck as he appeared twice his age during a court appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court.
And Olsen will not take any comfort from the proceedings in court as his insanity plea was overturned after two doctors grew suspicious of his claims.
Now Olson will be moved back to Rikers Island from the mental health prison he had been staying in while he undergoes another evaluation.
The alleged rapist had previously pleaded guilty by way of insanity.
John Fuller, Assistant District Attorney, read out a letter Olson had written to his family in court in which he detailed his plans to fool the justice system.
Just a year ago Michael Olson appeared in court clean-shaved, with a buzz cut and a youthful appearance, but come Tuesday, he had made a dramatic change after spending a year in jail
The 55-year-old financier appeared haggard with a long, uncut graying beard and his once closely cropped hair now flowing in waves to his neck as he appeared twice his age during a court appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court
‘I never explained so far what I’ve been doing here. What the plan is. Right now I’ve got an offer of 15 years. But if I am able to go a psychiatric route, then there could be much less. Perhaps as little as six years,’ he wrote to his family.
He told his family that his first step was to ‘stop making phone calls’ in February as he feared District Attorney Alvin Briggs was listening to all his calls and ‘could use them against me if I sounded too normal.’
His second step was to make sure he appeared insane on his mental health evaluation so he could be sent to a psychiatric facility instead of Rikers, but he noted to his family that he could be ‘sent back to Rikers [at] any time if I behave too normally.’
‘So I have been studying it quite a bit and have a plan for staying in the place, but there is no guarantee,’ he wrote. ‘The benefit, if the plan works, is that after six years the charges against me would be dismissed. So I would have no criminal record.’
Outside of having no criminal record upon his release, Olson told his family another motive for being ruled insane would be the prospect that a psychiatric facility would be ‘safer’ than Rikers or prison.
He said he believed it was ‘worth it in the big picture’ to have sacrificed his calls with his family and only write the important details down as he believed the system only ‘tracked’ his letter but not read the contents.
Olsen will not take any comfort from the proceedings in court where his insanity plea was overturned after two doctors grew suspicious of his claims. Now, Olson will be moved back to Rikers Island from the mental health prison he had been staying in while he undergoes another evaluation
The alleged rapist had previously pleaded guilty by way of insanity. Assistant District Attorney, John Fuller, also read out a letter Olson had written to his family in court, where Olson detailed his plans to fool the justice system
‘I never explained so far what I’ve been doing here. What the plan is. Right now I’ve got an offer of 15 years. But if I am able to go a psychiatric route, then there could be much less. Perhaps as little as six years,’ he wrote to his family
‘It did require the sacrifices of not making calls, which trust me has been hard,’ he wrote. ‘I never would have thought of doing something like this but the difference in time and not having a record is too big to ignore.’
Olson is accused of targeting young Asian girls on Instagram by specifically seizing on anyone who posted about not being able to afford clothes, or about self-harm.
He has been charged with a range of offenses against one child who was found in a hotel room with him in Midtown Manhattan in May 2023 after overdosing on ketamine, cocaine and Xanax. Olson was there but told police the drugs were ‘gifts.’
According to police, Olson stored a screenshot of the New York City public school calendar on his phone.
‘The benefit, if the plan works, is that after six years the charges against me would be dismissed. So I would have no criminal record,’ he wrote in the letter
There were also records of pick-ups and drop-offs from NYC elementary and middle schools.
Prosecutors say he kept a spreadsheet detailing the drugs he gave young girls, and who he’d sent messages to.
The girl he was found in the hotel with had also been on trips with him, traveling to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Miami.
Prosecutors claimed he pretended she was his daughter on the trips to avoid suspicion.
In May, EMTs were called to a hotel room where the child had overdosed.
That is how police first came across Olson, who was also in the room.
