Ex-Subway spokesman Jared Fogle received and distributed over 500 videos of children undressing while being examined by the Jared Fogle Foundation, a child outreach organization for children with obesity.
Fogle was a spokesman for Subway and positioned himself as an expert in weight loss, as he had reportedly lost over 200 pounds thanks to the sandwich shop.
Fogle was vital for Subway’s success as a healthier alternative chain of fast food. He started to make frequent TV appearances in 2000 after he pledged to a diet of Subway and exercise.
On November 2015, Fogle was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison for his actions.
Child porn ring disguised as a child obesity foundation
Fogle had employed the foundation’s director Russell Taylor to carry out the child pornography scheme. Taylor placed a camera in a clock radio to record children dressing and undressing. Taylor then passed the footage to Fogle, to which Taylor was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
The videos showed naked girls and boys aged 11 to 16 in a bathroom. There were also videos of the same kids in a bedroom, also naked. Fogle was aware that the children were younger than 18 and that they were being recorded. At least a dozen victims were filmed and photographed, with the footage being distributed among several parties. Fogle also reportedly knew the parents, addresses, and often socialized with them in different occasions.
Jared Fogle was also shown to have solicited sex through websites and engaged in sexual activity with underage persons from 2007 to 2015.
One of the victims strikes back
One of the girls, just known as Jane Doe, sued Jared Fogle and Taylor for $150,000, to which Fogle complained that it was the fault of the parent’s that the child was emotionally damaged. According to Fogle, the girl’s parents had an abusive alcohol-fueled relationship, which led the girl to severe depression, substance abuse, self-harm and suicidal tendencies.
39-year-old Jared Fogle, a father of two, was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to the charges concerning the distribution and reception of child pornography and traveling to have sex with a minor. He has paid restitution to 14 of the victims, but he can still be sued for emotional damages. Fogle paid $100,000 to 12 of the victims who were taken photographs of, alongside two others that he met at a New York hotel with whom to have sex. Both girls met at the hotel were under 18 at the time, and according to court evidence, Fogle paid for having sex with them.
On Russell Taylor’s case, he begged the judge not to let him “rot in a landfill of lost souls.” He will reside in prison at least until he is 65 years old. The trial was attended by his mother, father, stepfather, and other family members. Attorneys tried to defend Taylor by suggesting that he was forced by Fogle to create and distribute the material, but the judge paid no mind to the allegation although he recognized that Taylor’s working alongside the court helped keep the streets from two deceitful child abusers.
There is no clear indication as to how Taylor’s wife was involved and if there were other participants in the child porn distribution ring. Indiana Police Detective Darin Odier suggested that they were investigating the issue, looking for people that kept in contact with Taylor and Fogle for the distribution of child pornography. Apparently, the footage shows Taylor’s wife helping set up the camera to record a child taking a bath, which in this case was their 10-year-old niece.
Source: Washington Post