A judge on Wednesday ordered a man to stay away from pop star Sabrina Carpenter for five years after he had tried to get into her home more than a dozen times.

The man, William Applegate, must stay away from Carpenter, her sister and her sister’s partner, Judge David Wasserman of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County ruled.

According to court records, Applegate had argued that he and Carpenter were “currently at center focus of a classified military-government program” that made it “essential” that they “be together as soon as possible” for “national and global security.”

In court records, Carpenter called Applegate “a complete stranger to me,” and said she had “no desire to meet him or communicate with him.”

Detailing multiple disturbing instances in which Applegate approached her Los Angeles home, Carpenter said his “delusional insistence that he knows me and was expected by me is indicative of a dangerous, delusional and irrational fixation on me.”

“His pattern of stalking, trespassing and surveillance has caused me severe and ongoing emotional distress, and I am in fear what he may do if he is not restrained,” she wrote.

The Associated Press reported that Applegate appeared in court without a lawyer. Blair Berk, a lawyer for Carpenter, declined to comment Thursday.

Carpenter, who starred in the Disney Channel tween sitcom “Girl Meets World” from 2014 to 2017, skyrocketed to pop music stardom with her 2024 album “Short n’ Sweet,” which contained the popular songs “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.” She won two awards at the 67th annual Grammys. Her more recent album, “Man’s Best Friend,” was Grammy-nominated and received Album of the Year honors at the 2026 American Music Awards.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Aimee Ortiz/Nina Westervelt
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