Man pleads guilty to stalking ESPN's Erin Andrews
An Illinois man has pleaded guilty to stalking ESPN reporter Erin Andrews and shooting videos of her that he posted on the Internet and tried to sell, federal authorities said today.
Michael David Barrett, 48, of Westmont, Ill., admitted that he had the intent to "harass or to cause substantial emotional distress" to Andrews and used the Internet to try to distribute his videos, according to a plea agreement entered in federal court in Los Angeles. He could face up to five years in federal prison.
Barrett was charged in federal court in Los Angeles because some of his crimes occurred in L.A..
He was accused of shooting videos of Andrews through peepholes in hotel rooms in three states and posting the videos on the Internet and trying to sell them to the 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.
In an affidavit for a search warrant, an FBI agent indicated that investigators were seeking electronic records connected with a 42-second video called "Hot Blonde Out of Shower."
Authorities said Barrett sent TMZ an e-mail in January, offering to sell the videos. An employee contacted an attorney representing Andrews.
—Robert J. Lopez
EDITOR'S PICKS:
What a loser!
Posted by: raina | December 10, 2009 at 07:12 PM
Exceptionally creepy when TMZ turns you in. Peepholes?
Posted by: Jeff H | December 11, 2009 at 09:29 AM