Erin Andrews' Alleged Stalker Pleads Not Guilty

The Illinois insurance executive accused of making clandestine videos of bombshell sportscaster Erin Andrews has pleaded not guilty to making tapes.

Michael Barrett entered the plea Monday in federal court to one count of interstate stalking.

The 48-year-old Barrett remains free after posting a higher-than-expected bond Friday of $100,000. Judge U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Turchin set the amount after Andrews' attorney called Barrett's alleged behavior calculated, cunning and secretive and said he posed a threat to the public.

Barrett was arrested in October at Chicago's O'Hare airport after it became clear he had tried to sell secret video tapes of the sports reporter  to celebrity Web site TMZ, the FBI said in a statement.

Prosecutors say Barrett found hotels where Andrews was staying three times last year. They say he rented an adjacent room, altered the peephole and shot videos of Andrews.

Seven of the eight videos he shot and posted online were taken through a modified door peephole while the 31-year-old Andrews was alone and undressed in hotel rooms in Nashville, Tenn., in September 2008. Investigators believe the eighth video was taken in a hotel in Milwaukee in July 2008, and that Barrett actually altered the peephole in that hotel.

Barrett's attorney has said his client has no criminal record and has deep regret for the circumstances that have prompted the charges.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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