User blog:UnderAPineapple/Hurricane Pineapple 3: Jared Fogle

It’s Friday! Which means that I will be posting the third episode of Hurricane Pineapple.

There is a fine line between being famous and being infamous. My AP History Teacher said that to receive respect is much harder than to receive attention, and I always agreed with him. Being famous means that you are respected amongst a group of people, or perhaps everyone. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1949) is an example of someone who is famous, most known for his peaceful rebellion against Great Britain and being responsible for the independence of India, and what is now Pakistan. John Wayne Gacy (1942-1994) is an example of somebody who is infamous, known for murdering and raping 33 young men and boys before his execution by lethal injection. But what happens when someone who you look up to, is in fact the person who has been doing wrong, all along? Today we’re going to discuss the now infamous Jared Fogle, the man who was best known for being the spokesperson of the restaurant chain, Subway, who is now in prison for some sickening crimes. Let’s get right into this story.

About Jared
Jared was born Jared Scott Fogle on August 23, 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the only child of Adrienne & Norman Fogle, and was raised in a Jewish household. In 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System video game unit was released to the home market, and 8-year old Jared spent all of his free-time playing video games. When Jared was 13, like any Jewish boy, he celebrated his bar mitzvah when he was on a trip to Israel. This would be confirmed by his Conservative-Reconstructionist synagogue. Fogle graduated in 1995 from North Central High School in Indianapolis, and went to Indiana University until 2000 when he graduated. To many, he seemed like just an everyday man.

The Rise of Jared Fogle
However, Jared was initially very overweight, weighing roughly 400 pounds, and the complete lack of exercise and large calorie intake resulted in him strictly gaining more weight.

Before 1999, Jared ended up deciding to go on a diet of only Subway sandwiches (usually consisting of turkey and cheese), bottled water, and a LOT of walking. Surprisingly, this diet ended up turning out successful, as the 22-year old student lost over 200 pounds (91 kilograms). In April of 1999, a former roommate wrote about Jared’s weight-loss in an article, and he was also featured in a magazine article called “Stupid Diets. . . that Work!” Soon enough, the advertising agency for Subway received news of Jared’s story, and immediately wanted him to sponsor their brand.

The first ad with Jared in it occurred on New Year’s Day 2000. The ad tells audience members, “The Subway diet, combined with a lot of walking, worked for Jared. We're not saying this is for everyone. You should check with your doctor before starting any diet program. But it worked for Jared.” The ad was a success, and because many citizens ended up buying Subway products, business was booming. And with a lot of supply coming in, came a lot of demand. Jared was appearing in more television commercials and soon became a hero to the United States for his weight-loss diet. Jared even was featured in an episode of South Park called “Jared Has Aides” in 2002, to which he was “flattered” by. Jared appeared in more than 300 commercials on television, and even joined Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy from the Muppets, to make an advertisement for Subway.

Jared also became a spokesperson who would go to high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools, and he would share his story. He also created “the Jared Foundation” with his friend and closest business companion, Russell Taylor. The Jared Foundation was designed to help treat and hopefully end childhood obesity. Jared claimed that he “didn’t want children to end up like I did.” A childhood hero, a media superstar, and a millionaire, Jared was on top of the world, and it seemed that nothing could stop him.

Criminal Activity
But even with half of his original weight gone, Jared still had a fascination of what it was like to get into little pants. Jared was married to his second wife, Kathleen “Katie” McLaughlin, and ended up having a son and a daughter, after getting married in August 2010. It was unknown to relatively anyone, that Jared was living a double life.

Fogle first came under police radar in 2007 when he was accused of making sexual comments to a reporter about middle-school girls. Because there was only accusations, there was no evidence that Jared was actually saying that. Rochelle Herman-Walrond, a reporter in Sarasota, Florida was told by the FBI to wear a wiretap during her conversations with the Subway spokesperson, and for the following four years, was listening to Jared talking about his fascination for pedophilia and his sexual attraction to children. Jared multiple times made comments about having sexual encounters with girls ranging from 14-17 years old. The straw that broke the camel’s back for Rochelle, was when Jared asked her to put a hidden camera inside her 6-year old son’s room, and watch as Rochelle molest the boy. Rochelle immediately ended this investigation and reported this once again to the FBI, but they did not respond due to a “lack of evidence”

Behind closed doors, Jared Fogle was a monster. But to many, he was an idol. Jared was involved in a child pornography operation with his buddy and business companion, Russell Taylor. It was discovered by authorities that Taylor and Fogle traded pornographic videos and pictures of children (both boys and girls) as young as six years old. Along with this, Fogle traveled along state lines twice, to New York, in order to engage in sexual intercourse with a woman who was 17 years old. It was also reported in 2008, that a female Subway employee who Jared had an affair with, was asked by Jared to arrange for him to have sex with her 16-year old cousin. Subway was, notified about this request within hours, says the employee’s lawyer, and ignored these allegations, saying that since Jared was not an employee, it was none of their business. Today, Subway claims to have no idea about this accusation.

The Fall of Jared Fogle
What led to the fall of Jared Fogle was actually not the audio footage of him expressing his attraction to middle-school girls, but when child pornography was found on multiple devices in Fogle’s house. On July 7, 2015, Fogle’s house was raided by the FBI and the Indiana State Police, and computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices were removed from Fogle in order to detect whether or not he indeed was involved in child pornography. Russell Taylor was arrested immediately following the raid for his involvement in the operation with Fogle, and Subway cut ties with Jared within hours of the raid occurring. Fogle was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and traveling across state-lines to engage in sexual activity with a minor. Jared never gave a public interview following his arrest, and it is unknown what his bail was set to be at.

The Aftermath
Following the arrests of both men, Russell attempted to commit suicide, but his attempts were unsuccessful. Russell pleaded guilty to making more than 400 child pornography videos, many in which he shared with Fogle, 13 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, and distribution and reciept of child pornography. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison, where he is expected to be released in 2042, at the age of 70.

On August 19, 2015, Jared Fogle agreed to a plea deal. He would plead guilty to the two counts he was charged with. Had he gone to trial, he would’ve most likely been convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison. Because of his plea deal, he was expected to serve 5-12 years behind bars for his crimes. Fogle was also obligated to pay $1,400,000 in restitution in total, to his 14 victims ($100,000 for each victim), and following this being shown to the public, Jared’s wife Katie, filed for divorce.

In addition to his plea deal, Fogle would have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, he is never allowed unsupervised visitation with children, and upon his release, Jared would only be allowed to see his two children if Katie approved of it. Considering Katie has refused to accept Fogle’s apologies to her, it is unlikely Jared will see his two children ever again.

The plea deal was finalized on November 19, 2015, and Jared plead guilty before Tanya Walton Pratt, an American judge appointed by former U.S. President, Barack Obama in 2010. Fogle continuously apologized for his actions, and he says that he wants a chance to become a “good, honest person”, and “redeem” his life. Fogle was expected to be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years in prison, but Pratt decided to sentence him instead, to 15 years in prison, with a minimum of 13 years before he can even be considered for parole. Pratt also fined Jared $175,000 and ordered him to $50,000 in assets, in addition to the restitution of over $1,000,000. The earliest possible release date for Fogle, is July 11, 2029, when he would be 51 years old.

Whilst incarcerated, TMZ reported that Fogle had gained over 30 pounds and had become the “teacher’s pet” of the prison, needing a number of guards for his protection from the other inmates. In March 2016, Fogle was attacked by inmate, Steven Nigg, a man serving the same amount of time for illegal arms trafficking and theft. The assault left Fogle with a bleeding nose, swollen face, and scratches on his neck. Nigg said his reason for attacking Jared was because he “hated child molesters”.

Hurricane Pineapple - My Thoughts
I am incredibly fascinated with the Rise and Fall of Jared Fogle, and the story surrounding it. Do I believe he’s remorseful? Kind of, but only because he got caught. I believe he knew what he was doing is wrong, and he still did it anyways. The fact that he ruined these kids lives is sickening, and I personally think this could’ve been stopped YEARS before it was.

The reason I say Jared is remorseful, is because he plead guilty. That being said, I think if he was a free man today, and he was not in the pothole he’s going to be in for the rest of his life, he’d probably do the same crimes again. He’d probably not want to do them, but I believe that he would do it anyways, which is why I believe the sentence is way too low.

Jared, like most child predators, are hated amongst the prisoners, guards, etc. Rightly so in my opinion, pedophiles are treated as the lowest form of scum there is, and I believe if the inmates got a hand on Jared without supervision from guards, Jared would probably be dead. I don’t expect Jared to last his entire sentence, as I feel he will be ridden with guilt from his past. There’s a special place in Hell waiting for him, and I genuinely hope he’s doing TERRIBLY in jail.

Thank you so much for listening. I will make sure to have the fourth blog up by next Friday. Episode 4 of Japan is expected to be finished by this weekend, if I ever have the energy (which I believe I will this time). I hope you enjoyed, and I’ll see you later.