Jared Fogle, former Subway pitchman, blames victim’s parents in lawsuit
Subway’s former pitchman imprisoned for child pornography and sex abuse is arguing in a court filing that the parents of one of his female victims are to blame for what he describes as her “destructive behaviors.”
Jared Fogle’s motion filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis also argues that the parents may be responsible for the girl’s injuries alleged in a civil lawsuit against him.
The victim — who unknowingly appeared in some of the child pornography that led to Fogle’s criminal conviction last year — filed a lawsuit in March against him and two other people. It seeks monetary damages for, among other things, personal injury and emotional distress.
Fogle’s filing alleges the girl’s parents fought and abused alcohol in front of her. It argues that is among the causes of her distress and that her parents may be liable for some or all of her claims against Fogle.
Fogle’s attorney, Ron Elberger, and his colleague Steven Groth filed the motion Thursday. The Associated Press left messages for both lawyers Friday morning seeking comment.
M. Michael Stephenson, the attorney for the Indiana girl who is suing Fogle, said Friday that he had no immediate comment on the filing. Stephenson has said his client suffered “significant emotional trauma” because of Fogle’s actions.
Fogle, a 39-year-old father of two who was living in suburban Indianapolis when he was arrested, was sentenced in November to more than 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to distributing and receiving child pornography and traveling out of state to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. Fogle has paid restitution to 14 victims, but they can still sue him for additional money.
The girl’s parents are not named in the court documents, and the victim is referred to only by the pseudonym Jane Doe.
Fogle’s Thursday filing also points the finger at the parents’ divorce, describing it as acrimonious. “Custody and parenting time [agreements],” it says, that “required Jane Doe to constantly rotate her living arrangements caused unnecessary stress, anxiety, and trauma for Jane Doe.”
The victim’s lawsuit, which seeks at least $300,000 in damages, names Fogle and the former head of his anti-obesity charity, Russell Taylor. Taylor’s wife is also a defendant in the suit.
Prosecutors said Taylor used cameras hidden in his Indianapolis-area homes to secretly film 12 minors and shared some of the images with Fogle. The pornography was produced over a four-year period. Fogle encouraged Taylor to continue filming children who were nude, changing clothes or engaged in other activities while visiting Taylor’s homes, prosecutors said.
Fogle paid $100,000 to all 12 of those victims, as well as two others he had sex with at New York City hotels. Both of those girls were under age 18 at the time, and Fogle paid them for sex, according to court documents.
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