Jared Fogle is looking at another 15 years of eating sandwiches … but not from Subway. He’ll be in prison for possessing child pornography and having sex with two minors.
The former Subway spokesman who made a name for himself by getting skinny eating sandwiches pled his criminal case up to a judge today. She denied the proposed plea deal — a much shorter prison sentence offered by prosecutors — and gave him a more severe punishment, TMZ reports. Fogle will be on probation for the rest of his life after he is released from prison.
Jared Fogel’s “Mild Pedophelia” Argument
Fogle’s defense attorneys allegedly argued that Fogle had an eating disorder which was replaced with a new compulsion after the Subway sandwich weight loss. Referring to his “mild pedophilia,” they pointed out that his victims were teenagers, close to the age of consent, as they were 16 and 17 years old. An expert witness testified at the sentencing hearing that Fogle replaced food with “hypersexuality.”
Fogle also faced 12 counts of child pornography. Reportedly, he struck a five year prison deal with prosecutors, the mandatory minimum under the law. But the court refused to accept the negotiated plea, meting out a much more severe punishment.
According to TMZ’s calculations, “Since Fogle will be in federal prison, the standard time served is 85 percent … which would be just over 13 years, making him a free man in 2029. He’ll be 51 when he’s released.”
The Judge’s Judgment
The sentencing hearing was held in a federal court in Indianapolis, and the sentence was handed down by Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, who said, “Federal judges do not sentence based on emotion or public sentiment. The level of perversion and lawlessness exhibited by Mr. Fogle is extreme.”
According to the Indy Star, she described Fogle, 38, as having had a “privileged” upbringing before becoming “obsessed” with sex and minors. She referred to Fogle’s journey from being morbidly obese to losing weight and being discovered by Subway, saying, “What a gift to have such a professional windfall fall in your lap.”
Pratt reportedly said she believes Fogle is sincere in his remorse and took into account the $ 1.4 million in restitution he has already paid. He was taken into custody immediately after the more than four-hour sentencing hearing.
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Related Resources:
- Good Dog Busts Bad Man: Jared Fogle’s Porn Stash Sniffed by K-9 (FindLaw’s Legally Weird)
- Child Pornography and Selfies: What You Need to Know (FindLaw)
- Crimes Against Children (FindLaw)