Former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle was sentenced to 15.6 years in prison in an Indianapolis federal court on Thursday. In August, Fogle pleaded guilty to two charges — traveling across state lines to have sex with minors, and possessing and distributing child pornography — after a July police raid on his home. Fogle's hearing started at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, and reporters from local news stations covered the event in real-time on Twitter. Fogle faced a sentence between five and 50 years in prison, according to The Indianapolis Star. His legal team sought to bring his term down to five years, but prosecutors in the case wanted him to serve 12.5 years.
Fox 59 reporter Kendall Downing reported from the courtroom that Fogle's defense used forensic psychiatrist Dr. John Bradford as an expert witness in the case. Bradford apparently claimed that Fogle had multiple extramarital affairs and "engaged with sex trade workers extensively when he was traveling with Subway." By Downing's account, the defense team in Fogle's case tried to claim that he was a "weak" or "mild" pedophile, but the prosecution argued that there is no such thing, citing the fact that Fogle viewed child porn that included children as young as six years old. Bradford also claimed that Fogle developed "compulsive hypersexuality disorder."
According to The Indianapolis Star, the judge who decided Fogle's sentence, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, is "widely considered the toughest judge in the Southern District in terms of prison sentences." The paper also noted that a presentencing report in Fogle's case recommended a prison sentence between 11 years and three months and 14 years. Fogle is required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he can be eligible for release.
In August, Fogle admitted to paying for sex with girls who were 16, and to traveling to New York to engage in sex with two minors. Fogle also said that he received child pornography from the man in charge of the Jared Foundation, Russell Taylor. Taylor allegedly filmed 12 minors while they were nude using hidden cameras. Before the trial began, Fogle agreed to pay his victims each $100,000. That includes the 12 minors filmed by Taylor, as well as the two minors for whom Fogle traveled to New York.
