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Prosecutors reject Jared Fogle’s claims in sentence appeal

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Federal prosecutors are rejecting claims by former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle that his 15-year prison sentence was improper.

In a brief filed Tuesday with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, federal prosecutors said Fogle’s attempts to appeal his prison sentence should be rejected.

Fogle, who was sentenced in November 2015 to more than 15 years in prison on child pornography charges, claimed a federal judge erred in his sentencing by relying too heavily on “fantasies” rather that what he actually did, and leaning on accusations that he received images of a six-year old that borrowed heavily from a separate case involving Fogle’s friend and former colleague Russell Taylor.

Taylor, the former head of the Jared Foundation, was convicted of producing and distributing images of children and sharing them with Fogle over a period of years. Prosecutors argued Fogle failed to report Taylor and subsequently benefited from the conspiracy be interacting in social settings with children with whom Taylor had secretly videotaped.

In making their argument, prosecutors wrote:

“Fogle contends that the district court made three sorts of “factual” errors:

  • The court was unduly influenced by Russell Taylor’s conduct, which Fogle says the court unfairly applied to him;
  • The court based its sentence on “fantasies,” i.e., what Fogle thought rather than what he did
  • The court erroneously concluded that Fogle received pornography involving a six-year-old victim.

Although Fogle called these factual errors, his primary complaint is the judge considered facts he believes were out-of-bounds. Contrary to Fogle’s argument, the facts the judge considered were the facts the judge considered were accurate and appropriate, and the judge’s explanation of its sentence was more than adequate,” the brief read.

The brief also said, “The district court’s sentencing decision was procedurally proper.”

“To the extent Fogle is calling this category of conduct “fantasies,” he inadequately appreciates the nature of what he did and what the district court said. That Fogle “never acted upon” this second category of activities does not make them “fantasies,” the brief said.

“In the end, Fogle cannot escape the judge’s decision, which she explained in great detail, that his conduct warranted a sentence above and beyond what the guidelines contemplated. The judge exercised her discretion well; she did not abuse it. The Court should reject his challenge,” the 42-page filing states.

Fogle’s stunning fall from being a household name to becoming the ire of the American public underscores what prosecutors said was occurring – Fogle was leading a double life.

Publicly, Fogle was the face of Subway’s brand, encouraging millions of Americans to eat well and get healthy, after he lost weight eating Subway sandwiches. Prosecutors argue that fame, fortune and notoriety allowed Fogle to live another private life – one filled with illicit behavior, spending nearly $12,000 a year on prostitutes and on several occasions, prosecutors say, offering to pay them a “finder’s fee” if they could supply him with underage girls or boys to engage in sexual acts.

“The younger, the better,” Fogle reportedly told one of the prostitutes, according to a copy of text messages read aloud during Fogle’s sentencing hearing.

(Fogle) could’ve stopped it. He could’ve prevented it. Instead, he chose to benefit from it. He paid an appropriate price for that today,” U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler told I-Team 8’s Bennett Haeberle during a November 2015 interview after Fogle was sentenced.

Fogle was placed at a federal prison in Littleton, Colorado.