Jared Fogle Guilty, Jared Fogle, the former pitchman for Subway sandwich restaurants, notified a federal court on Wednesday that he would plead guilty to sex acts with minors and distribution of child pornography.
Mr. Fogle is charged with receiving and distributing sexually explicit images of minors and traveling across state lines to pay for sex with minors.
He was formally apprised of the charges against him at an initial hearing in Indianapolis, then released to home detention with GPS monitoring.
Jeremy D. Margolis, a lawyer for Mr. Fogle, said his client’s plea hearing had not yet been scheduled. As part of a plea agreement, details of which were released by federal prosecutors hours before Mr. Fogle’s court appearance, Mr. Fogle is expected to pay $100,000 in restitution to each of the 14 victims, eight of whom are still minors. He is also expected to receive a sentence of five to 12 years in federal prison.Jared Fogle is agreeing to plead guilty to the charges filed against him today,” Mr. Margolis said in a later statement. “In doing so, Jared is accepting responsibility for what he has done.”More than a month ago, investigators raided Mr. Fogle’s home in the suburbs of Indianapolis. His name had been associated with an earlier case related to his nonprofit organization, the Jared Foundation, which encouraged healthy eating habits in children.
Russell C. Taylor, 43, the former executive director of the foundation, was charged in May with seven counts of production and one count of possession of child pornography. Acting on a tip that Mr. Taylor possessed pornographic images of children, the authorities recovered over 400 videos of child pornography from computers and storage media in Mr. Taylor’s home office in Indianapolis.
Josh J. Minkler, the United States attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said on Wednesday that Mr. Fogle had been involved with child pornography since 2011, when he learned that Mr. Taylor was sexually exploiting a 14-year-old girl. Mr. Fogle did not notify the authorities.
The authorities say that Mr. Fogle knew that Mr. Taylor had produced pornography of young children, including a group of 12 minors who were secretly filmed at Mr. Taylor’s home. Mr. Fogle is said to have met with some of those children during social events, according to court documents.
Mr. Taylor is currently in federal custody, charged under a criminal complaint before an indictment is produced, Steven DeBrota of the United States attorney’s office said on Wednesday. He said cooperating with the authorities in Mr. Taylor’s case was not a part of Mr. Fogle’s plea agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Fogle faces a maximum of 12 and a half years in prison, he said, but there is no cap on how much supervision he will receive as a sex offender upon his release. The judge could also hand down a sentence of a different length, based on whether the terms of the plea agreement are accepted.
Mr. Fogle is also accused of using online websites to arrange for sex acts with at least two minors. In once instance, he traveled to the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan in 2012 to pay for sex with a 17-year-old girl. The girl recalled that he later told her that he would “really make it worth her while” if she set him up with someone younger. He is accused of frequently arranging his travel plans to coincide with such pursuits, which the authorities characterized as criminal conduct that began before he was involved with child pornography.
On Wednesday, local media outlets reported that Mr. Fogle’s wife, Katie, said that she would divorce him.Obviously, I am extremely shocked and disappointed by the recent developments involving Jared,” she said in a statement, adding, “My focus is exclusively on the well-being of my children.”
Mr. Fogle first gained national attention 15 years ago for losing more than 200 pounds on his so-called Subway diet, a regimen he devised while studying at Indiana University.
“I was reborn in every sense of the word,” Mr. Fogle told the campus newspaper in 1999. “Subway helped save my life and start over. I can’t ever repay that.”
His story was heavily marketed by Subway, but after the July raid on Mr. Fogle’s home in Zionsville, Ind., Subway suspended its relationship with him.
“Subway and Jared Fogle have mutually agreed to suspend their relationship due to the current investigation,” the company said in a statement at the time. “Jared continues to cooperate with authorities and he expects no actions to be forthcoming. Both Jared and Subway agree that this was the appropriate step to take.”
The restaurant immediately began erasing Mr. Fogle’s image from its website and stores.On Wednesday, Subway issued a more forceful statement, saying that the relationship had ended. “Jared Fogle’s actions are inexcusable and do not represent our brand’s values,” it said.
In a news conference the same day, Douglas G. Carter, superintendent of the Indiana State Police, praised a private citizen who gave a tip that led to the investigation into Mr. Fogle, which grew to involve local, state and federal authorities. They analyzed more than than 159,000 text messages, 47,000 images and 27,000 emails during the investigation.
“Fame and fortune will not protect you from attacking those most vulnerable in our communities,” Mr. Carter said. “Somebody knows what you’re doing. Someone will tell us eventually.”
Mr. Fogle is charged with receiving and distributing sexually explicit images of minors and traveling across state lines to pay for sex with minors.
He was formally apprised of the charges against him at an initial hearing in Indianapolis, then released to home detention with GPS monitoring.
Jeremy D. Margolis, a lawyer for Mr. Fogle, said his client’s plea hearing had not yet been scheduled. As part of a plea agreement, details of which were released by federal prosecutors hours before Mr. Fogle’s court appearance, Mr. Fogle is expected to pay $100,000 in restitution to each of the 14 victims, eight of whom are still minors. He is also expected to receive a sentence of five to 12 years in federal prison.Jared Fogle is agreeing to plead guilty to the charges filed against him today,” Mr. Margolis said in a later statement. “In doing so, Jared is accepting responsibility for what he has done.”More than a month ago, investigators raided Mr. Fogle’s home in the suburbs of Indianapolis. His name had been associated with an earlier case related to his nonprofit organization, the Jared Foundation, which encouraged healthy eating habits in children.
Russell C. Taylor, 43, the former executive director of the foundation, was charged in May with seven counts of production and one count of possession of child pornography. Acting on a tip that Mr. Taylor possessed pornographic images of children, the authorities recovered over 400 videos of child pornography from computers and storage media in Mr. Taylor’s home office in Indianapolis.
Josh J. Minkler, the United States attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said on Wednesday that Mr. Fogle had been involved with child pornography since 2011, when he learned that Mr. Taylor was sexually exploiting a 14-year-old girl. Mr. Fogle did not notify the authorities.
The authorities say that Mr. Fogle knew that Mr. Taylor had produced pornography of young children, including a group of 12 minors who were secretly filmed at Mr. Taylor’s home. Mr. Fogle is said to have met with some of those children during social events, according to court documents.
Mr. Taylor is currently in federal custody, charged under a criminal complaint before an indictment is produced, Steven DeBrota of the United States attorney’s office said on Wednesday. He said cooperating with the authorities in Mr. Taylor’s case was not a part of Mr. Fogle’s plea agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Fogle faces a maximum of 12 and a half years in prison, he said, but there is no cap on how much supervision he will receive as a sex offender upon his release. The judge could also hand down a sentence of a different length, based on whether the terms of the plea agreement are accepted.
Mr. Fogle is also accused of using online websites to arrange for sex acts with at least two minors. In once instance, he traveled to the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan in 2012 to pay for sex with a 17-year-old girl. The girl recalled that he later told her that he would “really make it worth her while” if she set him up with someone younger. He is accused of frequently arranging his travel plans to coincide with such pursuits, which the authorities characterized as criminal conduct that began before he was involved with child pornography.
On Wednesday, local media outlets reported that Mr. Fogle’s wife, Katie, said that she would divorce him.Obviously, I am extremely shocked and disappointed by the recent developments involving Jared,” she said in a statement, adding, “My focus is exclusively on the well-being of my children.”
Mr. Fogle first gained national attention 15 years ago for losing more than 200 pounds on his so-called Subway diet, a regimen he devised while studying at Indiana University.
“I was reborn in every sense of the word,” Mr. Fogle told the campus newspaper in 1999. “Subway helped save my life and start over. I can’t ever repay that.”
His story was heavily marketed by Subway, but after the July raid on Mr. Fogle’s home in Zionsville, Ind., Subway suspended its relationship with him.
“Subway and Jared Fogle have mutually agreed to suspend their relationship due to the current investigation,” the company said in a statement at the time. “Jared continues to cooperate with authorities and he expects no actions to be forthcoming. Both Jared and Subway agree that this was the appropriate step to take.”
The restaurant immediately began erasing Mr. Fogle’s image from its website and stores.On Wednesday, Subway issued a more forceful statement, saying that the relationship had ended. “Jared Fogle’s actions are inexcusable and do not represent our brand’s values,” it said.
In a news conference the same day, Douglas G. Carter, superintendent of the Indiana State Police, praised a private citizen who gave a tip that led to the investigation into Mr. Fogle, which grew to involve local, state and federal authorities. They analyzed more than than 159,000 text messages, 47,000 images and 27,000 emails during the investigation.
“Fame and fortune will not protect you from attacking those most vulnerable in our communities,” Mr. Carter said. “Somebody knows what you’re doing. Someone will tell us eventually.”
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