A Los Angeles judge granted Sabrina Carpenter a five-year restraining order against William Applegate on Wednesday, ordering him to stay away from her, her family members and her property after allegations that he tried to force his way into her home in May.
The order bars Applegate from contacting Carpenter, Sarah Carpenter and George Smith, and requires him to keep 100 yards from them, their home, their workplace and their vehicles. It also says he can face a possible $1,000 fine, a one-year jail sentence or both if he violates it.
The ruling lands because Carpenter said Applegate was not just showing up. She said he came to her Los Angeles home on May 23 unannounced and uninvited, then physically grabbed the lever of her front door and pushed it down while trying to get inside. Detective Peter Doomanis wrote that she was in genuine fear for her personal safety, and court filings say Applegate was arrested that day before later being released.
By then, Carpenter said, the pattern was already clear. Her private security guards reported that Applegate returned on May 24 and May 25, while Hasan Brown said he had seen Applegate’s vehicle parked near the home on multiple occasions beginning after April 19 and getting closer over time. Blair Berk told the court Applegate had traveled to Carpenter’s private homes more than a dozen times, including an incident in which he allegedly broke into a neighbor’s property, climbed a fence and tried to open Carpenter’s front door while she was inside.
Carpenter said she had never met Applegate and never invited him in. She described the attempt to enter her front door as one of the most disturbing violations of personal safety and privacy she has ever experienced, and said his stalking, trespassing and surveillance had caused severe and ongoing emotional distress. Applegate gave a starkly different account, telling the court he believed he and Carpenter were part of a classified military program that required them to be together as soon as possible for national and global security; he also said he would be more than willing to stay away if she told him herself.
Judge David I. Wasserman cut off that line of argument and made the order plain. The restraint expires on June 17, 2031, which makes the term a full five years from the date of entry and not just a tally of calendar days from the hearing. The next test comes in criminal court, where Applegate is due back tomorrow, while the civil order now gives Carpenter a legal shield that will last into 2031 if it is obeyed.
