An Oregon man was arrested Sept. 13 and held on a $100,000 surety bond to face charges of stalking, harassment and breach of peace after sending emails to a University of Connecticut athlete.
Robert Cole Parmalee, aged 40, was set to appear in Rockville Superior Court last Monday, according to a written statement from university spokesperson Stephanie Reitz on behalf of the University of Connecticut Police Department.
“A UConn employee reported to UConn Police in June that members of their department had received multiple emails with references to a specific UConn student-athlete and players in some other schools’ athletics programs,” Reitz said.
While those emails did not meet criteria for actionable criminal conduct, UConn employees and dozens of people throughout the U.S. were sent emails in the following weeks that were sent to the police and reviewed for criminal conduct, according to Reitz.
“A UConn detective reviewed the emails and gathered information about the author, Robert Cole Parmalee […], learning that he had no connection to UConn. Police also communicated with several law enforcement agencies in Oregon, where he was living when sending the messages,” Reitz said.
UConn Police were told by Connecticut State Police on Aug. 27 that Parmalee had been taken into custody in Windsor Locks under an active warrant for his arrest in Oregon. This was unrelated to UConn’s investigation, however, and Parmalee would be extradited to Oregon, according to Reitz. UConn recently learned that Oregon law enforcement officials would move to dismiss the charges against Parmalee and that he would be released from Hartford Correctional Center, where he was being held.
At the UConn Storrs campus, there were four cases of on-campus stalking reported in 2022, four in 2021 and six cases in 2020, according to the 2022 annual security and fire safety report.
Students who are survivors of sexual assault, stalking and/or intimate partner violence can go to the gender-inclusive support group In-Power at the Women’s Center, according to the Women’s Center website. They can also get support through the Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Eastern Connecticut, which is free and confidential. Their 24-hour crisis hotline number is 860-456-2789.