Man to Plead Guilty in Erin Andrews Case

LOS ANGELES - A Chicago-area man accused of trying to sell nude footage of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews to a celebrity-gossip Web site is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to one federal count of interstate stalking.

Michael David Barrett, 48, a former insurance executive, is set to enter his plea before U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

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, 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, said.

Barrett was arrested Oct. 2 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

After the allegations came to light, investigators discovered the peephole had been altered in the door to a Nashville hotel room where Andrews stayed in September 2008, according to prosecutors.

Barrett had specifically requested and stayed in the hotel room adjacent to Andrews, prosecutors said.

Barrett had also registered at hotels in Columbus and Milwaukee where Andrews stayed in July and September 2008, a 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, the FBI's Laura Eimiller said.

Barrett's attorney, David K. Willingham, said recently that his client had lost his insurance job and may lose his home as a result of the charges.

At his arraignment last month in Los Angeles, Barrett was allowed to remain free on $100,000 bond under conditions that include house arrest, electronic monitoring and Internet and telephone use restrictions.