Subway's Jared to plead guilty
INDIANAPOLIS — Longtime Subway pitchman Jared Fogle is expected to plead guilty to child-pornography charges, an Indiana television station reported Tuesday.
The report on Fox 59 comes six weeks after authorities seized electronics and other items from Fogle’s home in Zionsville, an affluent Indianapolis suburb.
Citing sources it did not identify, the station said Fogle would enter a plea Wednesday. It also said the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Indianapolis planned to hold a news conference Wednesday.
The 37-year-old Fogle became a Subway pitchman more than 15 years ago after shedding more than 200 pounds as a college student, in part by eating the chain’s sandwiches.
Subway suspended its association with Fogle after the raid. The company declined to comment Tuesday, saying only that the chain had “already ended our relationship with Jared.”
Ron Elberger, an Indianapolis attorney who represents Fogle, and Tim Horty, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Indianapolis, both declined to comment on the report.
Two months before Fogle’s home was raided, authorities arrested the then-executive director of Fogle’s foundation on child-porn charges. Russell Taylor, 43, ran the Jared Foundation, which sought to raise awareness about childhood obesity. He was charged with seven counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Investigators said they discovered a cache of sexually explicit photos and videos Taylor allegedly produced by secretly filming minor children at his home.
After those charges were filed, Fogle issued a statement saying he was shocked by the allegations and was severing all ties with Taylor.
