(WFSB) – A man accused of stalking and harassing a University of Connecticut basketball player online appeared in court Monday.
Robert Parmalee, 40, of Washington state, was accused of sending numerous emails to university officials about basketball player Paige Bueckers.
In court Monday, the judge kept his bail at $100,000. If he pays it, he is barred from entering the city of Mansfield and from having any contact with Bueckers, court officials said.
UConn police said the university’s communications team received unusual emails from Parmalee dating back to June in which the suspect confessed his love and said he wanted to marry Bueckers.
The emails also claimed that Parmalee was a member of the royal family and made references to Greek mythology, with Parmalee being Apollo and Bueckers being Athena.
UConn police arrested Parmalee on Friday on a warrant charging him with disturbing the peace, stalking and harassment.
During an investigation, police found an Instagram and Facebook account belonging to Parmalee. She said posts on those pages included a poem addressed to Bueckers in which he asked her to marry her.
According to police, there were also Facebook posts with references to other former and new UConn players.
Parmalee was arrested on August 27 in Windsor Locks on an Oregon arson warrant, accusing him of attempting to burn down a home where his roommate was staying.
Parmalee had flown to Bradley International Airport.
He was found nearly hit by cars on Route 20 in Windsor Locks, near the airport. He told state police he was the father of more than 17,000 children and wanted to visit Bueckers.
UConn police executed their arrest warrant after learning that Parmalee would be released because Oregon would drop the charges.
UConn students are relieved that he never made it to campus.
“I think it’s crazy,” said UConn senior Kapita Kalemba. “To fly here and actually try to implement what he said. That’s pretty crazy.”
“This is quite strange and not safe for the other students either,” Kalemba added.
Former prosecutor and current defense attorney Ryan McGuigan has handled similar cases.
“I believe we are talking about someone who is mentally disturbed and poses a potential threat to another human being,” McGuigan said. “The right place for this person is not prison, but a psychiatric hospital.”
He is due to appear in court again on October 22.
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