Ring Camera Catches Unwanted Visitor: Sabrina Carpenter Seeks Legal Protection

When your smart home security system becomes evidence in a restraining order petition, you know things have escalated. Sabrina Carpenter filed for court protection Friday after a 31-year-old stranger named William Applegate showed up at her Los Angeles home unannounced—not once, but three times in as many days, including less than 24 hours after his arrest.

The initial incident happened May 23, when Applegate approached Carpenter’s front door with what she describes in her legal filing as a deliberate and aggressive approach. Ring camera footage captured the encounter: Applegate attempting to open the door, ringing the bell, and refusing to leave even after her security team confronted him. He claimed to know Carpenter—she says they’ve never met—and stuck around until police arrived and arrested him.

But here’s where it gets genuinely unsettling. Within hours of his arrest, Applegate returned May 24. Security told him to leave, and he complied that time. Then he came back again on May 25, triggering another police response. Carpenter’s declaration to the court is direct and unambiguous:“William Applegate is a complete stranger to me. I have never met him or communicated with him in any way. I have no desire to meet him or communicate with him.”

The court granted Carpenter a temporary restraining order that extends protection to her sister Sarah and Sarah’s boyfriend George. The real test comes later this month during a hearing to determine whether the TRO becomes permanent. What started as one troubling encounter at a celebrity’s home has become a pattern that demands legal intervention—a stark reminder that even security cameras and quick police response times can’t always prevent the creeping dread of repeated unwanted contact from someone who refuses to accept boundaries.