Erin Andrews Stalker Goes To Prison For 30 Months

By: Bill Waters
03/16/2010 11:35 AM ET

Erin Andrews got her day in court as a Los Angeles federal judge sentenced her stalker to 30 months in prison. Michael David Barrett was caught secretly video taping the ESPN reporter at various hotels. He then posted the video footage on the Internet.

“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, 49, was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $7,366. He 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.

Barrett used a small camera to record videos of Andrews through peepholes in hotel rooms in three states. He then tried to sell the videos on the Internet. In one instance, he tried to sell the material to celebrity Web site TMZ.

The plea agreement states that in February 2008, Barrett stayed in the room next to Andrews in Columbus, Ohio, where he used a peephole to shoot video of her. Barrett also spied on the ESPN reporter at a Nashville hotel in September 2008 and recorded video of her while she was unclothed. Seven of the eight videos posted on an Internet site apparently were taken from the Nashville hotel room.

“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.”

ESPN Reporter For College Football, Basketball and Major League Baseball

Andrews, 31, joined ESPN in May 2004 as a reporter for the network’s National Hockey League coverage. Since the 2004 season, she has served as the sideline reporter for college and basketball coverage. In 2005, she added Major League Baseball sideline reporting to her duties.

She also provides reports and features on Great Outdoor Games coverage, covers men’s college baseball, and is a familiar sight during the College World Series. On July 8, 2009, she was struck on the chin by a foul ball hit by Alex Cora of the New York Mets. She was rushed to the hospital, but only suffered bruises.

Invasion of Privacy Incident

On July 16, 2009, a video posted was posted on a website revealing a blonde woman. It was advertised as ESPN reporter Erin Andrews. Supposedly, the woman was curling her hair unclothed while doing squat-like moves in front of the mirror. The next day, she authorized her attorney to issue a public relations statement.

The statement verified that she was the woman in the video, and that the video was made without her knowledge or consent. It was determined that the video was originally uploaded to the website on February 17, 2009. It was also available on Google Search for several months.

Legal counsel for Andrews and ESPN acted quickly to remove the video from the sites. They also worked with authorities in an effort to locate and prosecute the perpetrators of the privacy invasion. This incident was heavily reported in the international media.

On September 11, 2009, Andrews appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in what she called her “first and last interview” about the situation. She described the situation as a nightmare and stated that at the time she discovered the video, she believed that her career would end.

On October 2, 2009, the FBI announced the arrest of a Chicago businessman Michael David Barrett. According to investigators seven of the eight videos posted online were taken through a modified door peephole while Andrews was alone and undressed in hotel rooms. At a hearing on March 15, 2010 he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.