Penn State professor sees stalking, harassment charges move forward in Centre County
Centre County prosecutors put forward enough evidence Wednesday to proceed with stalking and harassment charges against a Penn State professor.
Matthew B. Parkinson, 51, of College Township, saw most of the charges filed against him advance after a more than hourlong preliminary hearing Wednesday.
District Judge Steven Lachman allowed three charges to head toward a potential trial, including misdemeanor counts of stalking and harassment. He dismissed a second misdemeanor count of harassment.
Parkinson, who is currently on administrative leave from Penn State, was charged in October after a woman told State College police there was unwanted contact and communication between the two for nearly a decade.
On some occasions, the woman told officers Parkinson would show up unannounced and unwelcome at her job in downtown State College or would go out of his way to run into her.
His visits became frequent enough they drew the attention of her coworkers, borough police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. He was never a customer at the business.
In a span of six months in 2022, the woman estimated she encountered Parkinson more than 40 times. He regularly emailed her suggesting lunch walks and repeatedly told her he was nearby, police wrote.
She told investigators she changed her routine in an attempt to avoid Parkinson, but said he “always managed to be walking by then anyway.” The woman also said she left her job to get away from him “for good,” police wrote.
In her testimony Wednesday, the woman painted a picture of a friendly relationship between two couples that “got dicey.” What started as a friendship between couples who vacationed together turned “uncomfortable” and “strange,” she testified.
One of her lunch spots was under a tree, which she learned was in sight of Parkinson’s office. In one message, Parkinson said “you’re never at your tree anymore” and included a photo of the tree, police wrote. The message, she testified, left her “creeped out.”
The woman also alleged he spoke with two of her children despite being told not to contact them.
Defense lawyer Philip Masorti pushed for the stalking charge to be dismissed Wednesday, telling the judge the allegations were not “over the top.” Centre County Assistant District Attorney Ian Hausner, meanwhile said the woman was “put through emotional distress.”
Parkinson remains free. His bail is set at $10,000 unsecured.
He is a professor in Penn State’s College of Engineering and was once the director of The Learning Factory. He has been on administrative leave since at least Nov. 15, a Penn State spokesperson wrote in emails to the Centre Daily Times.
The university declined further comment, describing it as a personnel matter. The Learning Factory is being led by an interim director, according to its website.