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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, March 15, 2010

Man who secretly videotaped ESPN’s Andrews gets 30 months in prison


By Shelby Grad
Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles federal judge Monday sentenced a Chicago businessman to 30 months in prison for secretly shooting video of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews 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 charges in December, including having the intent to “harass or to cause substantial emotional distress” to Andrews. He admitted 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 Web site 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.”