Erin Andrews, the ESPN reporter who last month was at the center of a Los Angeles court case involving a man who secretly videotaped her, has now been the subject of death threats, her attorney said.
Andrews, who is appearing on ABC’s "Dancing with the Stars," is now under protection. Her attorney, in a statement released to the media, did not specify the threats but said the FBI has been notified.
"It is unfortunate that
there are sick people who prey on the fears and threaten the well-being
of others," Marshall Grossman said.
Andrews spoke out last month about what she considered the light sentenced an L.A. federal judge handed down to a
Chicago-area businessman who pleaded guilty to charges he secretly shot
video of her and posted it on the Internet.
Andrews said she felt Michael David Barrett
deserved a harsher sentence and that she continues to be victimized
because the videos remain on the Internet.
In court, Andrews told the judge: "He stalked me, he terrorized me
— this will never be over for me, and I don’t want it to ever be over
for you," she said, referring to Barrett.
"You are a sexual predator, a sexual deviant," she told Barrett,
saying she lives in a state of fear and needs security at work and
home. "They should lock you up and throw away the key."
In December, Barrett, 48, of Westmont, Ill., pleaded guilty to
various charges in connection with the case, 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.
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, court records show.
— Shelby Grad
Photo: Erin Andrews. Credit: Associated Press