Man Pleads Not Guilty to Taping Erin Andrews

Los Angeles - A Chicago-area man accused of trying to sell nude footage of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews to a celebrity-gossip Web site pleaded not guilty today to a federal charge of interstate stalking.

Trial for Michael David Barrett is set to start Jan. 12. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison.

On Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Turchin allowed Barrett, 48, to remain free on $100,000 bond after setting bail conditions, including house arrest, electronic monitoring and Internet and telephone use restrictions.

Barrett, of Westmont, Ill., is accused of surreptitiously shooting videos of Andrews in the nude through peepholes in hotel rooms in Nashville, Tenn., Columbus, Ohio, and Milwaukee, Wis., and posting the footage on the Internet after trying to sell it to the entertainment news site TMZ.com.

"Ms. Andrews had no idea her privacy was being invaded," her attorney, Marshall Grossman, told the court last week.

Following's Barrett's Oct. 2 arrest at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said videos of Andrews were taken while she was undressed.

"Seven of the eight videos subsequently posted on an Internet site appear to have been taken in one hotel room that the victim believes is in Nashville," Eimiller said.

Investigators discovered the peephole had been altered in the door to a hotel room where Andrews stayed in September 2008, Eimiller said. They also learned Barrett had specifically requested and stayed in the hotel room adjacent to Andrews, she said.

Barrett also registered at hotels in Columbus and Milwaukee where Andrews was staying in July and September 2008, a new court filing alleges.

TMZ.com was offered the videos of the victim, for an undisclosed amount, via e-mail messages which were later linked back to Barrett, Eimiller said.

Barrett's attorney, David K. Willingham, told Turchin that his client lost his job and may lose his house as a result of the charges.

Initially, Turchin was considering setting bond at $20,000, but raised the amount after hearing from Andrews' attorney.

As for the $20,000 amount, Grossman said Barrett "spent more (than that) on hotels, gasoline" and air travel in order to allegedly stalk Andrews.

In his address to the court, Grossman argued that Barrett was a danger to the community. The attorney said he was recently contacted by an Arizona woman who alleges Barrett stalked her for four years, leaving her afraid for her life. The woman was suffering "severe anxiety" and other "psychological effects" as a result, he said.

Grossman told the judge that Andrews "wanted to be here today," but was on assignment in Nebraska. He said she wanted to "convey deep appreciation" to prosecutors and law enforcement officials who investigated the case.

Along with setting bond, Turchin ordered Barrett to serve house arrest under electronic monitoring, have no Internet access or have access to telephones with multimedia capability.