Joe Sugg was forced to leave his home after enduring a “terrifying” four-year stalking campaign by an obsessed fan.
Robert Beckman, a 31-year-old American, repeatedly targeted the popular vlogger and YouTuber with emails, social media comments and handwritten letters in a campaign that began in 2022.
Over the following four years, Beckman sent messages from several different locations.
He was jailed for 21 months after a court heard the campaign had left Sugg fearful for his own safety and that of his family.
The court was told Beckman believed Sugg was communicating with him through subliminal messages hidden in YouTube videos, including seemingly ordinary actions such as drinking hot chocolate.
He also interpreted one alleged hidden message as a direct instruction to travel from the United States to the UK.
Beckman travelled from his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Britain and arrived in London.
After reaching the capital, he went to Sugg’s city apartment. Once inside the building, he pushed a folder containing documents and letters beneath the door.
US-born Robert Beckman subjected Joe Sugg to a four-year barrage of emails, social media comments and personal letters
Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell during their time on Strictly Come Dancing. The couple have been together since 2018
Sugg discovered the folder when he arrived home. Beckman was arrested, warned not to contact the star again and issued with a police caution.
However, the harassment continued after Beckman returned to the United States, with more letters sent to Sugg’s address.
The court heard the repeated contact left Sugg “terrified” and “exhausted”.
He said he was forced to leave his rural home and stay elsewhere for a week because he feared Beckman might appear at his doorstep.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Sugg said: “It has been so mentally exhausting over the years. Mr Beckman is clearly not mentally well.
“I was frustrated and concerned, and it worried me that despite never responding to him, he would continue to contact me.”
Lewes Crown Court heard that the 35-year-old YouTube star became increasingly “concerned and frustrated” by the stream of messages and letters, forcing him to alter both his lifestyle and working practices.
Sugg also had to remove personal information from every post to avoid compromising his own safety or that of his family.
Sugg and Buswell at an event in March 2023. Sugg said he was forced to leave his rural home for a week after fearing Beckman could arrive at his door
He said: “This has all affected my work. I would be very anxious and triple-check everything to make sure Mr Beckman would not misinterpret it.
“It caused increased stress and anxiety. Some of the content was sexual in nature, and I was worried about what might happen if this man ever came to the UK.”
“I felt totally helpless and spent countless sleepless nights worrying and trying to work out how this could be resolved.”
The letters would sometimes stop for several months before starting again, triggering fresh “anxiety and stress”, he said.
“I felt I could worry less and get back to my usual self,” Sugg said. “But that silence was shattered by more letters.”
Although Beckman never made a direct personal threat, Sugg became increasingly afraid for his safety and that of his partner, Strictly dancer Dianne Buswell.
As the couple prepared for the birth of their son, the letters became more frequent. Beckman also told Sugg he intended to travel to the UK again.
In his final letter, Beckman said he planned to stay at Hilton London Gatwick and suggested that Sugg meet him at the hotel.
He included flight details showing plans to arrive at Gatwick on August 25 before checking into the hotel.
Beckman outside Lewes Crown Court on Thursday. The court heard he believed Sugg was sending him subliminal messages through his YouTube videos
Lewes Crown Court heard that Sugg and his family were forced to flee their home and stay with relatives for a week as a result.
In his statement, Sugg said: “I was terrified that he was staying in a hotel that was very close to our home.”
Sugg contacted police, who met Beckman when he arrived in the UK and arrested him.
He was charged with stalking that caused Sugg serious alarm and distress, substantially affecting his normal day-to-day life.
Beckman was also accused of failing to provide investigators with a key or passcode for his iPhone 13.
The American pleaded guilty to both offences when he appeared at Brighton Crown Court last month.
Sentencing Beckman to 21 months in prison, Judge Stephen Mooney said it was clear he had experienced mental health problems.
The judge said: “You may have had no unpleasant intentions, but Mr Sugg had no way of knowing that. He had no way of knowing whether you were a fantasist or a genuine threat, and that is why this is so serious.”
Judge Mooney said the stalking campaign had an “insidious and corrosive effect” that had seeped into the family’s everyday life.
He added: “You were told to stop, but you simply didn’t and repeatedly and unexpectedly sent messages that he [Sugg] found alarming to him and his family.”
The judge said: “It appears your mental health was not good, and I am deeply saddened that your depression and anxiety led you to make an attempt on your life.
“The fact of that incident is a clear indication that you suffer from poor mental health, and I am sure this contributed to the offending you have admitted.”
Beckman, wearing a grey sweatshirt and dark trousers, was supported in court by his parents. He remained impassive as the sentence was handed down.
Judge Mooney said Beckman would be deported after his release and imposed a restraining order barring him from returning to the UK for ten years.
Sugg rose to fame as part of the British YouTube scene in the 2010s. He lives with professional dancer Dianne Buswell, 37, in a large home near Brighton, East Sussex.
The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Bowden, in March this year.
They began dating after being paired together on the 16th series of BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2018.
Earlier this year, Dianne Buswell became the first professional dancer in Strictly history to compete while pregnant, before her partner Stefan Dennis was forced to withdraw because of an injury in 2025.
Sugg’s sister, Zoe Sugg, better known as Zoella, and her partner Alfie Deyes are also YouTube stars, although they have largely disappeared from social media.
Fans continue to hope the couple will return to regular content, pointing to Deyes’ occasional Instagram posts as evidence that the pair—who rose to fame as vloggers in 2012—may eventually resume their online presence.
Their YouTube channels, however, have remained inactive, with Deyes’ last upload coming ten months ago.
