Jared Fogle, or, as he is better known “Jared from Subway“, had his home raided today by the FBI over suspected child pornography charges. The man who ran his foundation to fight child obesity was arrested just two months ago under federal child pornography charges.
According to USA Today [1]:
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In the midst of the hours-long police investigation conducted by federal and state officials, Fogle left his Zionsville home with an attorney.
Investigators from the FBI, Indiana State Police and Postal Service arrived before sunrise Tuesday and were seen removing electronics, documents and other items and loading them into an evidence truck parked in the driveway.
An attorney for Fogle said Fogle has not been arrested on any crime and is cooperating with investigators.
“Jared has been cooperating, and continues to cooperate, with law enforcement in their investigation of unspecified charges and looks forward to its conclusion,” attorney Ron Elberger said in an email. “He has not been detained, arrested or charged with any crime or offense.”
Authorities declined to comment on why they were at Fogle’s home, but the Subway chain in a statement Tuesday said it believes the investigation is related to the prior arrest of Russell Taylor, the former Jared Foundation executive.
“We are very concerned and will be monitoring the situation closely,” the statement read in part.
Fogle rose to fame in television commercials for the Subway sandwich chain after losing 235 pounds by eating the sandwiches and exercising. Fogle was a 425-pound freshman at Indiana University when he embarked on the unusual diet of turkey and veggie subs in 1998.
Earlier this year, Subway released a new commercial featuring a cartoon version of Fogle’s story [2]. But by Tuesday afternoon, a page at Subway’s website titled “Jared’s Journey,” which told Fogle’s weight-loss story, had been removed.
Fogle founded the Jared Foundation to encourage children to develop habits of healthy eating and exercise.
FBI spokeswoman Wendy Osborne referred questions to officials from the U.S. attorney’s office, who declined to comment, citing a Department of Justice policy that prohibits them from confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.
Indiana State Police also referred questions to the U.S. attorney’s office.
A detective’s affidavit filed in May to obtain search warrants for Taylor’s residence details allegations against the former head of Fogle’s foundation, including claims he produced and possessed child pornography involving children — both boys and girls — as young as 9 years old.
One item police recovered from Taylor’s home office, according to court records, was a thumb drive that contained multiple videos of child pornography, including what police described as “commercially made child pornography from Eastern Europe similar to that seized on other investigations.”
The detective leading the probe noted an examination of that thumb drive also “revealed a document file with Taylor’s employer listed in the file name.” It is unclear, however, whether that referred to Fogle or the foundation. It also is not clear from the court document whether that specific file contained pornographic images.
On May 6, two days after Taylor was formally charged, he attempted suicide at the Marion County Jail and was placed on life support.
Tim Horty, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said Tuesday that Taylor’s health is improving, and he is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Taylor faces seven counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child
Court documents said officers initially searched Taylor’s home April 29 looking for “evidence of bestiality, including images or videos,” but found several digital media cards and thumb drives that included “multiple video files of nude or partially nude minor children.”
More than 400 videos of child pornography were found on computers and storage media.
It added many of those images appeared to have been made in bedrooms and bathrooms at Taylor’s former and current homes.
“Many of these videos showed the exposed genitals or pubic area of the children” — both boys and girls — and that the “minors did not appear to be aware that they were being filmed,” according to the court record.
After Taylor’s arrest, Fogle issued a statement that said he was “shocked” over the allegations and that the foundation was “severing all ties” with Taylor.
On Tuesday, the forensic truck, parked in the driveway for hours, held a handful of investigators who occasionally popped out to enter the home.
Occasionally, residents of the upscale neighborhood stopped on their bikes, or while walking their dogs, to stare and comment that the neighborhood is usually quiet.
At one point, a woman drove by in a minivan and shooed two young girls on bikes away from the scene.
Neighbors said the Fogle family was cordial, but private, as some neighbors who lived nearby said they did not often socialize with the family.
Other residents declined to discuss their neighbors.
Jacob Schrader, 19, came home to his neighborhood Tuesday to find a bevy of police and reporters outside the home he knew to belong to the Subway spokesman.
“He’s a private guy,” Schrader said.
Schrader said he saw Fogle walking the neighborhood or getting his mail. Other neighbors said Fogle would appear outside from time to time and give a friendly wave.
“This doesn’t ever happen in this neighborhood,” Schrader said, referring to the influx of media and police.
Sources:
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7M-4FGms8k
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