A convicted stalker and two hotel firms are told to compensate Erin Andrews over a nude video filmed without her consent in 2008.
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| Erin Andrews said the video made her feel 'embarrassed and ashamed' |
A TV sports presenter who was secretly recorded by a stalker while nude in a hotel room has been awarded $55m (£38m) by a jury.
Erin Andrews, a Fox Sports reporter who also co-hosts Dancing With The Stars, had told the trial that she was left humiliated and depressed when the video was uploaded online, where it continues to be viewed by millions of people.
She had filed a lawsuit for $75m (£52m) against the man who filmed her, Michael David Barrett, as well as the two companies which owned the hotel where the harassment took place in 2008.
After deliberating for a full day, a jury decided Barrett was responsible for 51% of the blame and the compensation, while the hotel firms should share the rest.
Barrett has already served two-and-a-half years in prison after he confessed to altering peepholes and deceiving the hotel's staff to learn Andrews' room number and request the room next door.
He said he uploaded the footage online after TMZ refused to purchase it.
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| Michael David Barrett, who took the nude video, did not attend the trial |
Lawyers for the hotels had insisted that Barrett was entirely to blame for what happened to Andrews as he was a determined criminal, and also suggested that the progress in her career since the incident was proof that her distress was not severe or permanent.
But during a tearful testimony in Tennessee, Andrews said she is taunted about the video "every day of my life".
She added: "Either I get a tweet or somebody makes a comment in the paper or somebody sends me a still video to my Twitter or someone screams it at me in the stands and I'm right back to this.
"I feel so embarrassed and I am so ashamed."
Her parents had also testified - reliving the terror their family had felt after the video emerged because they didn't know who had taken it, where it was shot and whether their daughter was still being watched.
Following the verdict, several jurors hugged Andrews - and one even asked for an autograph.
In a statement, the TV star thanked the jury, her family and her legal team, adding: "I've been honoured by all the support from victims around the world. Their outreach has helped me be able to stand up and hold accountable those whose job it is to protect everyone's safety, security and privacy."
Source : Here