An Oregon man has been arrested and charged with stalking and harassing University of Connecticut star basketball player Paige Bueckers.
ESPN, The Oregonian and Connecticut’s local WFSB report that Robert Parmalee was arrested and faced an Internet judge Monday on charges of electronic stalking and harassment and disorderly conduct.
A stalking charge is a felony. Parmalee, 40, has not yet entered a plea and remains in custody on $100,000 bail, according to records reviewed by PEOPLE.
If he is released on bail, WFSB reports that a judge told Parmalee that he is not allowed to go to Mansfield, where UConn’s campus is located, and that he is not allowed to have contact with Bueckers, 22.
UConn campus police became aware of Parmalee in June after he allegedly sent a handful of troubling, “wandering” emails to university staff, according to ESPN. The outlet cited police as saying Parmalee allegedly claimed in emails to be a member of the Royal Family and was trying to marry a member of the UConn women’s basketball team.
Robert Parmalee.
WTNH News8/YouTube
University police say Parmalee also made a series of troubling social media posts, including some threatening Bueckers’ family, according to ESPN. The outlet reported that on his TikTok account, Parmalee wrote: “And if I can’t live with the woman of my choice, [Bueckers]then I will choose to die, and I will choose to take all of you [op]place me, oppose us, to hell, and return, king…”
Another social media post allegedly included a fake wedding invitation and an alleged diamond ring, according to ESPN.
UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers wears a new runway outfit for the 2024 ESPYS red carpet.
WFSB reports that Parmalee was arrested on August 27 while wandering along a highway in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, near Bradley International Airport and about 30 miles from the UConn campus in Mansfield. The outlet reports that he was arrested on an outstanding warrant out of Oregon, where police wanted him on an arson charge for allegedly trying to set his home on fire with a roommate inside.
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Paige Bueckers during the 2024 Div I Women’s Basketball Championship Elite Eight game between the UConn Huskies and the USC Trojans on April 1, 2024.
Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire/Getty
According to ESPN, citing an affidavit in the warrant application, Parmalee allegedly began sending his videos directly to Bueckers via Instagram in February. The senior security guard went to UConn campus police to tell them she was concerned about her safety and the safety of her family, according to the media release.
Neither Bueuckers nor the UConn basketball team plan to make a statement about the case, according to ESPN. Parmalee is due back in court on October 22.
A protective order was also issued against Parmalee on Monday, court records show.
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Source: HIS Education