Fogle to plead guilty to sex acts with minors, child porn
Subway restaurant spokesman Jared Fogle. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Longtime Subway pitchman Jared Fogle has agreed to plead guilty to allegations that he paid for sex acts with minors and received child pornography that he knew had been secretly produced by the former director of his charitable foundation, federal prosecutors said in court documents released Wednesday.
The agreement filed ahead of an expected court appearance by Fogle said he agrees to pay $1.4 million in restitution to 14 minor victims, who will each receive $100,000. Fogle will also be required to register as a sex offender and undergo treatment for sexual disorders.
The government has agreed not to seek a sentence of more than 12½ years in prison, and Fogle has agreed not to ask for less than five years, according to the documents, which say Fogle will plead guilty to one count of traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography.
Federal judges have wide discretion in sentencing. The child porn charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The count involving sex with a minor is punishable by up to 30 years.
The Associated Press left messages seeking comment with Fogle attorney Ron Elberger.
Fogle, 37, became Subway's pitchman after shedding more than 200 pounds as a college student, in part by eating the chain's sandwiches. He was the public face of the company for more than 15 years — a period in which its number of locations tripled, making Subway the world's largest restaurant chain.
Subway suspended the partnership in July after agents raided his home in the affluent Indianapolis suburb of Zionsville, and the chain said this week that it had ended its relationship with Fogle.
Federal prosecutors allege in the documents that the married father of two traveled to pay for sex acts, including with minors, from 2007 until as recently as June and that he repeatedly planned business trips to coincide with his sexual pursuits.
On Nov. 3, 2012, Fogle allegedly paid a 17-year-old girl who he had found online to engage in sex acts while he was staying at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, according to the papers. Several months later, he again paid her for sex acts while staying at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, according to the document, which says the girl told Fogle her age when they first met and that he knew she was a minor.
After the first meeting, the document said, Fogle texted the girl and offered to pay her a fee if she could find him another underage girl to pay for sex acts.
During these discussions, Fogle "stated that he would accept a 16-year-old girl, while stating that the younger the girl, the better," the document said.
Between 2011 and 2013, Fogle also repeatedly sent text messages to other escorts, "soliciting them to provide him with access to minors as young as 14 to 15 years," the document said, adding that he would only make such requests after engaging in sex acts with the escorts to "insure that they were not undercover police officers."
The document also alleged that Fogle on multiple occasions received sexually explicit images and videos produced by Russell Taylor, 43, who ran the charitable Jared Foundation. The foundation sought to raise awareness about childhood obesity and arranged for Fogle to visit schools and urge children to adopt healthy eating and exercise habits.
Two months before Fogle's home was raided, authorities arrested Taylor on seven counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Investigators said they discovered a cache of sexually explicit photos and videos Taylor allegedly produced by secretly filming minor children at his home.
After those charges were filed, Fogle issued a statement saying he was shocked by the allegations and was severing all ties with Taylor.
Prosecutors also allege that Fogle received from Taylor multiple images and videos, some of which were taken by a video camera hidden in a clock radio that filmed children changing clothes or bathing. Some were taken in buildings were Taylor lived.
The document says Fogle knew those depicted were minors, some as young as 13 or 14 years old, and in some cases knew the minors involved by name and had met them "during social events in Indiana."
In other cases, the document said, Taylor allegedly obtained sexually explicit images taken by others outside the U.S., including videos of children around age 6, and shared them with Fogle.
Taylor's attorney, Brad Banks, has said his client was briefly hospitalized after the allegations against him first surfaced. Sheriff's officials have said Taylor tried to take his own life in jail.
Banks said Tuesday that his client remains in federal custody and that prosecutors have until Sept. 3 to issue a grand jury indictment.
Fogle's history with Subway reaches back to his days at Indiana University. The college paper published a story on his weight loss that was then picked up by national media.
Soon after, Subway's advertising agency reached out to Fogle and asked if he wanted to be in a TV commercial. The ensuing ad campaign resonated in part because Fogle seemed like such a regular guy, which made weight loss seem simple and achievable.
In 2013, Subway celebrated the 15-year anniversary of Fogle's famous diet by featuring him in a Super Bowl ad and making him available to news organizations for interviews. At the time, Fogle said he still traveled regularly on behalf of Subway. He also said he had a Subway "black card" that let him eat at the chain for free.
The company, based in Milford, Connecticut, has declined to provide details on its financial arrangements with Fogle.
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Associated Press writers Tom Murphy and Brian Slodysko in Indianapolis and Michael Tarm in Chicago contributed to this report.