HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Erin Andrews faced her convicted stalker for the first time Tuesday, telling a Los Angeles courtroom that she is still haunted by his secret videotaping of her.
"I have nightmares," the 31-year-old ESPN reporter told the court, according to the New York Daily News. "I walk in crowds and I see him in my peripheral vision. When I'm alone in my house, I have fears that he's going to walk inside and hurt me. I don't know him. I've never met him. I don't know why he chose me. But I hope he never sees the light of day again."
Michael David Barrett, 48, of Westmont, Ill. pleaded guilty to interstate stalking at the hearing. The insurance executive admitted that he rented hotel rooms next to Andrews on three occasions in 2008 and proceeded to shoot two videos of her while she was naked.
Last week, Barrett reached a plea deal with prosecutors in which he would serve a 27-month prison sentence, but Andrews argued that he should serve the maximum of five years.
"My career has been ripped apart, which I've worked very hard for," said Andrews, who attended the hearing with her father and attorney. "I am subjected to crude comments and suggestions that I have partnered in a crime. I walk into stadiums, and fans say obscene things to me."
Barrett currently remains free, with sentencing scheduled for Feb. 22.
The nude peephole scandal swept the Web in July when Barrett's videos first surfaced, just days after Andrews appeared at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. He was arrested three months later at Chicago's O'Hare airport.
- Comment
