A Los Angeles federal judge today sentenced a Chicago businessman to 30 months in prison for secretly shooting video of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews and and posting it on the
Internet.
Michael David Barrett, 49, was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $7,366.
Barrett, 48, of Westmont, Ill., pleaded guilty to
various charged in December, including having the intent to "harass or to
cause substantial emotional distress" to Andrews. He admitted that he
used the Internet to try to distribute his videos.
At the December hearing, Andrews spoke out against Barrett.
“He stalked me in a calculated way,” Andrews told the court. “I’ve
been humiliated. I’ve been embarrassed and my career has been ripped
apart.”
Barrett was accused of shooting videos of Andrews through peepholes
in hotel rooms in three states, posting the videos on the Internet and
trying to sell them to celebrity website TMZ.com, court records show.
In February 2008, Barrett stayed in the room next to Andrews in
Columbus, Ohio, where he used a peephole to secretly shoot video of her
naked in her room, according to the plea agreement.
Barrett also spied on Andrews at a Nashville hotel in September 2008
and shot video of her while she was unclothed, the plea agreement
states.
Seven of the eight videos posted on an Internet site apparently were
taken in the Nashville hotel room, according to federal authorities.
“I am subject to crude comments," she told the court in December. "I walk into stadiums,
and fans make crude comments to me. I have nightmares about this sexual
predator.”
–Shelby Grad
Photo: Associated Press