Plan B Forum

Jared Fogle charged with paying for sex with minors, possessing child porn

Jared Fogle, who for years served as the spokesman for the sandwich chain Subway, is facing federal charges that he repeatedly paid to engage in sexually explicit acts with children and that he received and distributed child pornography, according to court documents.

Fogle, 37, will plead guilty to the charges, his attorney said Wednesday. He will also pay $1.4 million to 14 victims in restitution for counseling, support, treatment, or other assistance related to their victimization.

According to court documents released Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Indianapolis, Fogle used Web sites to solicit commercial sex and traveled to engage in sexual acts with minors from 2007 until June 2015.

The documents also allege that Fogle received images and videos of nude children from Russell Taylor, who served as executive director of Fogle’s childhood obesity charity. Taylor also distributed pornographic images of children who were as young as six to Fogle, the documents allege.

“Today, Jared Fogle has been charged and has admitted to participating in a five-year criminal scheme to exploit children,” U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said at a news conference. “This is about using wealth, status, and secrecy to illegally exploit children.”

Fogle was charged Wednesday; he is expected to formally enter plea at a later date.

Fogle became a Subway pitchman in 2000, as the story of his “Subway diet” helped the Connecticut-based sandwich giant market itself as a healthier option. Fogle said he lost 245 pounds as a college student in Indiana by exercising and eating Subway sandwiches, and he became a ubiquitous marketing presence on television.

Eventually, Subway became synonymous with Fogle.

But following a July raid at Fogle’s Indiana home, Subway announced that it had “mutually agreed” to suspend its relationship with him. Tuesday, as Indianapolis TV stations began to report that Fogle would face federal charges, Subway said in a statement that it already ended its relationship with Fogle and had “no further comment.”

It was not clear when that relationship ended.

he repeatedly paid to engage in sexually explicit acts with children

The plea deal, filed in court Wednesday, would see him serve between five and 12½ years in prison.