Man arrested and charged with stalking after allegedly harassing UConn star Paige Bueckers for months

An Oregon man was arrested Monday and charged with stalking and harassing UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers, according to ESPN's Katie Barnes.

UConn police arrested Robert Parmalee, 40, on Friday after several incidents in which he allegedly threatened and harassed Bueckers over the past few weeks and months. He was formally charged with disturbing the peace, electronic stalking and harassment on Monday and ordered held on bail.

According to the report, UConn police said the school first learned of Parmalee in June after receiving “rambling” emails from him claiming he was a member of the royal family and wanted to marry a member of the women's basketball team.

He has posted about Bueckers on social media multiple times, including once sending a fake wedding invitation that purported to contain an engagement ring. He also posted threatening messages about Bueckers, her friends and her family. In one post on his TikTok, he threatened to kill himself and others if he couldn't “live with the woman of my choice,” by which he meant Bueckers, according to ESPN. Parmalee also allegedly began sending videos and messages to Bueckers on Instagram in February. Bueckers said she never responded, and she told UConn police on Friday she feared for her safety and the safety of those around her.

The man was also arrested in August after he was spotted on a highway near Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. He told state police he was on his way to see Bueckers when he was arrested in that incident and that he wanted to propose to her and get her kicked out of school.

A judge ordered both a protective order and a restraining order on Monday. If Parmalee is released on bail, he will be placed under supervision and GPS monitoring, according to the report. He is due in court in October.

Bueckers will return to UConn this fall for one final season with the Huskies. She was a lottery pick in the WNBA Draft earlier this summer. After two dominant seasons early in her career at UConn, where she reached the Final Four twice and won multiple National Player of the Year awards, Bueckers battled various knee injuries over the past three seasons. Last season, she averaged a career-high 21.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. It was her first season back at full strength, leading the team to the Final Four.