Jared Fogle child pornography investigation and arrest

In 2007, Fogle came to the attention of state and federal law enforcement agencies after Sarasota, Florida journalist and radio host Rochelle Herman-Walrond told the Sarasota Police Department he made lewd comments to her about middle school-age girls; she had met Fogle at a local middle school for a health event, as he was in Sarasota for his speaking tour. She made recordings of Fogle's remarks and saved text messages between them, and then went to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), where agents asked her to record her conversations with him. Herman-Walrond befriended Fogle and, for the next four years, surreptitiously recorded her conversations with him as part of an ongoing federal investigation. She recorded him making several remarks about having had sex with underage girls and asking her to install a webcam in her children's rooms so he could watch them; ultimately, the FBI could not pursue a case against Fogle using the recordings because they needed more substantive evidence against him.

During the investigation into Russell Taylor's child pornography operation, authorities discovered that Taylor had traded sexually explicit photos and videos of children, some as young as six, with Fogle. Taylor, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison, was later named an unindicted co-conspirator in the FBI's case against Fogle.[37] "What we found in Russell Taylor's home and on his computers led us to Jared Fogle," said Tim Horty, a spokesman for the United States Department of Justice.

On July 7, 2015, the FBI and Indiana State Police investigators raided Fogle's Zionsville, Indiana, residence; computers and other electronic equipment were removed from his home.[38][39] The same day, a spokesperson for Subway announced that the company and Fogle had mutually agreed to suspend their business relationship; subsequently, Subway removed all references to Fogle from its website.[40][41]

Following Fogle's arrest, the FBI also subpoenaed a series of text messages made in 2008 between Fogle and Subway franchisee Cindy Mills, with whom he was having a sexual relationship at the time. In these messages, Fogle talked about sexually abusing children ranging in age from nine to 16, told her to sell herself for sex on Craigslist, and asked her to arrange for him to have sex with her 16-year-old cousin.[42][43] Mills' lawyer said that she had alerted Subway's corporate management about the text messages, but that they had responded that because Fogle was not a Subway employee, there was no violation. Subway representatives said they had no record of Mills' allegations.

## Plea agreement

On August 19, 2015, federal prosecutors announced they had reached a deal with Fogle in which he would plead guilty to two counts, one of distribution and receipt of child pornography and one of traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor—specifically, from Indiana to New York City, where he is charged with paying to engage in sexual acts with a 17-year-old girl.

Prosecutors alleged that Fogle offered adult prostitutes a finder's fee to find him younger sex partners.

According to documents released by federal prosecutors, Fogle has also agreed to pay a total of $1.4 million in restitution—$100,000 to each victim.[46] Fogle faced up to 50 years in prison had he gone to trial; however, as part of the plea deal—which was not binding on the sentencing judge—prosecutors agreed to seek no more than 12 and a half years. In return, Fogle agreed to a minimum sentence of five years.[47][48][49] Soon after the plea deal was announced, Subway announced via Twitter that it had completely severed ties with Fogle.[50] As a condition of his plea deal, Fogle would be restricted to supervised contact or communication with minors upon approval of his probation officer. Supervised visits with his own children would be allowed only with approval of their mother, Fogle's soon-to-be ex-wife Katie McLaughlin.[51] Fogle had already made a request to visit his two children in September, but McLaughlin contested it.[52] Upon release from prison, Fogle will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and undergo treatment for sexual disorders.[37]

On November 19, 2015, Fogle formally pleaded guilty before federal judge Tanya Walton Pratt. In a statement, Fogle apologized for his crimes, saying that he wanted a chance to become a "good, honest person" and "redeem [his] life" after being ensnared in a life of "deception, lies and complete self-centeredness." According to Dr. John Bradford, a forensic psychiatrist who testified for Fogle's defense team, Fogle suffered from a compulsive eating disorder for several years before losing weight, and replaced food with a sense of "hypersexuality," which included "mild" or "weak" pedophilia.[7] That diagnosis was not accepted by experts in the psychiatry field and was criticized by Judge Pratt and on social media.[53][54] Liberty Behavioral Health Corp. psychologist Adam Deming suggested that Bradford had meant to say that Fogle's primary sexual attraction was to early teenagers, but that he had a lesser attraction to younger children.[54]

Judge Pratt sentenced him to 15 years and 8 months in prison, over three years more than what prosecutors had sought and three times what Fogle had requested. Pratt stated that the "level of perversion and lawlessness exhibited by Mr. Fogle is extreme." Fogle must serve a minimum of 13 years before becoming eligible for time off with good behavior. After serving his sentence, he will be on supervised release for the rest of his life.[7][55] Judge Pratt also fined him $175,000 and ordered him to forfeit $50,000 in assets (a total of $225,000), in addition to the $1.4 million restitution.[56]

Fogle's lawyer, Ron Elberger, filed a notice of appeal on December 14, 2015.[57] Fogle is able to appeal the sentence since it is longer than the maximum sentence recommended by the prosecutors. The appeal brief was due by January 25, 2016,[58] but Fogle asked for an extension for his appeal after Elberger was diagnosed with cancer. The extension was granted.[59] After the appeal was filed, the U.S. Attorney's office responded by opposing any sentence reduction. The office cited Fogle's text messages to a woman, in which Fogle stated he would "pay big" if she could procure 14-year-old children, and that he "craved" underage Asian girls.[60][61][62][63] In these text messages, he also expressed sexual interest in young boys,[64] and a recording exists where he describes to a friend a sexual encounter with a male child.[65]

On June 9, 2016, Fogle's sentence was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.[66]

## Incarceration

Fogle's lawyers recommended that he serve his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood near Littleton, Colorado; it has a program for sex offenders. Judge Pratt agreed with the recommendations, but she had no authority to determine where Fogle would serve his sentence.[67]

On November 21, 2015, Fogle arrived at the Henderson County, Kentucky Detention Center, where he was held on a temporary basis.[68] Fogle entered Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) custody, going to Federal Transfer Center, Oklahoma City, on December 15, 2015.[57]

On December 18, Fogle was transferred to FCI Englewood.[2] Fogle's BOP number is 12919-028. His earliest possible release date is July 11, 2029, a month before his 52nd birthday.[69]

In March 2016, Fogle was assaulted by another inmate, Steven Nigg (Register No. #10896-089), reportedly because Nigg hates child molesters. The attack left Fogle with a bleeding nose, swollen face and scratches on his neck.[70][71][72] Nigg was then transferred to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, before being transferred to FCI La Tuna in El Paso County, Texas.[73]

On November 8, 2017, Judge Pratt dismissed a motion filed by Fogle who was hoping to overturn his convictions by stating that the federal court did not have jurisdiction to convict him.[74] She also dismissed another motion filed on behalf of Fogle by fellow inmate Frank Pate stating the court did not have jurisdiction because of Fogle's status as a purported "sovereign citizen".[75]

## Civil lawsuits

The parents of one of Fogle's victims filed a civil lawsuit against Fogle for personal injury and emotional distress.[76] Fogle filed a motion arguing that the parents are actually liable for the injuries because the parents fought and abused alcohol in front of the daughter.[76]

On October 24, 2016, Kathleen McLaughlin's lawyers filed suit against Subway in Indiana.[77][78] The suit alleges that Subway violated McLaughlin's privacy and property rights, and caused personal injury to McLaughlin by covering up at least three instances of Fogle's illegal behavior that were reported to senior management, including the allegation that Subway's senior vice president of marketing hushed up a 2004 incident in which Fogle propositioned a young girl at a promotional event at a Subway franchise in Las Vegas.[43] The lawsuit was dismissed in October 2017, with the judge writing that the court lacked jurisdiction, since their principal business operations were outside Indiana.[79]

## Potential for other criminal charges

State of New York authorities could charge Fogle with committing state crimes related to Victims 13 and 14; since it would be the state government rather than the federal government, doing so would not violate double jeopardy. Potential state crimes would include statutory rape and/or trafficking persons for sexual reasons. New York defense attorney and former assistant district attorney Matthew R. Smalls stated that New York State is unlikely to bring state charges since it would have to make a new investigation and get testimony from victims. Abby Phillip of the *Washington Post* stated "As a legal matter, Fogle may never be charged with rape — or legally labeled with having committed that crime."