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| Jared Fogle aka (POS) after sentencing for sexual assault of a child etc. |
Jared Fogle was sentenced to 15 years, eight months in prison Thursday for possession and distribution of child pornography and traveling across state lines for commercial sex with a minor.
Judge Tanya Walton Pratt announced the sentence for the former Subway pitchman in federal court in Indianapolis.
Fogle was taken into custody of the U.S. Marshal after the four-hour, 42-minute hearing. He was handcuffed behind his back and led out of the courtroom as family members hugged and cried.
Immediately after the hearing, Fogle blew a kiss and waved goodbye to family members in the front row. About a dozen family members and friends attended the hearing.
The sentence is more than the 12 1/2 years that prosecutors agreed to seek in a plea deal. Pratt said the advisory sentence range of 135 to 168 months "does not sufficiently account for the defendant's criminal conduct."
Federal prisoners must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. The judge recommended that Fogle be sent to a prison in Littleton, Colo., because of its program for sex offenders.
"Federal judges do not sentence based on emotion or public sentiment," Pratt said. She added, "The level of perversion and lawlessness exhibited by Mr. Fogle is extreme."
She described Fogle, 38, as having had a "privileged" upbringing before becoming "obsessed" with sex and minors. Pratt talked about Fogle's journey from being morbidly obese while at Indiana University to losing weight and being discovered by Subway.
Pratt said she believes Fogle is sincere in his remorse and took into account the $1.4 million in restitution he has paid.
"This defendant's celebrity cuts both ways," she said. "He will likely get protection when he goes to the Bureau of Prisons."
Pratt read from a statement from the family of a victim that said she had contemplated suicide and uses medication for sleep, depression and anxiety at age 16.
Kristine Guerra contributed to this report.
12:58 p.m. UPDATE: There's a five-minute break before the judge gives Fogle his prison sentence.
12:57 p.m. UPDATE: "He can't control his demons," DeBrota said of Fogle. "I hope some day he can. We only know what he can do once he's caught."
DeBrota: "We don't think there is more to the story. But there's enough to show how bad it was."
"Deterrence does matter. ... There's nothing in this man's history or character" to suggest why Fogle committed the crimes. He came from a good family. He's trying to counter the defense assertion that Fogle traded a food addiction for a sex addiction.
12:50 p.m. UPDATE: DeBrota said it's not proper, as the defense has argued, to consider that pandering politicians created the sentencing structure.
"Jared Fogle absolutely knew these victims," DeBrota said. "He knew they were going to be with Mr. Taylor. He knew what was going to happen."
DeBrota said Fogle participated "enthusiastically."
DeBrota said evidence shows Fogle recognized a girl just by her nude torso, which meant he was paying close attention.
Of Taylor, DeBrota said, "In every respect he's a monster, but he's a monster (Fogle) helped cause."
He said of a defense witness, a forensic psychiatrist, "There's more to this story than what Dr. Bradford got in five hours."
12:38 p.m. UPDATE: DeBrota, the prosecuting attorney, said Fogle committed two very different crimes --- possession of child porn and traveling across state lines to have sex with a minor --- that must be considered together for sentencing.
Three victims made written statements to the judge that are under seal.
"There shouldn't be any doubt there's serious harm here," DeBrota said.
12:35 p.m. UPDATE: Fogle's voice cracked and he sobbed as he said, "Not a day will go by when I don't think about what I did to (the victims)."
"Members of my family are also victims of my acts," he said before noting that his wife will be a single mother.
"You gave your wife $7 million, so she'll be OK," the judge said, interrupting.
Fogle continued from what appeared to be a written statement.
"I so regret that I let so many of you down," Fogle said.
12:31 p.m. UPDATE: Fogle could be heard taking two deep breaths and then started his statement to the judge.
"For most of my adult life, I've been in the spotlight, trying to be a role model," he said. "...I became dependent on alcohol, pornography and prostitutes."
12:30 p.m. UPDATE: Fogle about to make a statement.
12:29 p.m. UPDATE: Margolis said Fogle has endured a "crashing and burning of his life" but has shown a "steadfast commitment to get well."
"Why didn't he do that years ago?" the judge asked.
The attorney said he didn't know but that the psychiatrist told Fogle, "If I could have met you seven years ago, I would have put you on Zoloft and this wouldn't have happened."
Margolis said Fogle "traded a horrible food addiction for a horrible sex addiction."
12:20 p.m. UPDATE: DeVooght described what Fogle has already endured. He has already lost his career, marriage and reputation.
"When your honor is considering what is just punishment, we ask that you consider unique consequences Mr. Fogle will suffer the rest of his life," the attorneys said. "The time in prison will be harder for him than for prisoners who committed the exact same offense. ... Mr Fogle has destroyed his life. He did it to himself. ... His punishment is not going to stop when he gets out of prison. Sixty months is enough for him to know he'll never do this again."
12:15 p.m. UPDATE: Fogle's attorney said he had no sexual contact with victims Taylor recorded and that "differentiates him from many other defendants."
DeVooght told the court often that he knows Fogle's actions were "pathetic" and "ridiculous" but that there were mitigating factors. DeVooght said Fogle didn't actually see pornography of at least four of the 12 victims, including a 9-year-old.
"It's not a fun job fashioning these distinctions," DeVooght said, but it's important to the sentencing decision.
DeVooght said Fogle looked at images on a thumb drive three times, including commercial pornography of children as young as 6, and then threw it away. But, the attorney added, Fogle "never requested that level of disgusting material" from Taylor.
He said there has been a lot of "fanfare" about what Fogle said about children during phone sex. He said there's no evidence that the activity he described ever happened. And he said the person on the other end of the line --- even if that person turned the recordings over to investigators --- was reacting positively to the discussion as a sex partner.
11:59 a.m. UPDATE: DeVooght is giving a closing argument. He started by saying he's not excusing Fogle's "despicable" behavior.
He noted that many judges and defense attorneys believe federal sentences are too harsh in child porn cases.
Despite all of the material involved in the investigation, there's no evidence that Fogle played an "active role in the production," DeVooght said.
The defense attorney called the federal sentencing guidelines "a blunt instrument" that's out of date. As an example, he noted the sentence enhancement for using a computer for child porn.
DeVooght described his client as "pathetic, passive and he stood by" without reporting Taylor's production of child porn. But, the attorney added, Fogle was "not out there affirmatively collecting this child pornography."
He said Fogle did not "affirmatively request" a 6-year-old in child porn but it was part of many images he was given by Taylor.
11:53 a.m. UPDATE: Odier said Fogle had met three of the victims in Taylor's porn videos, and that Taylor was producing videos of family and friends.
Taylor gave Fogle child porn on a thumb drive and through access to Taylor's computer.
"They frequently travelled together and he frequently gave Mr. Fogle his computer so he could view it," Odier said.
In February of this year, Fogle received child porn photos that were texted. Fogle, he said, identified the victim even though you couldn't see her head.
Odier testified that Fogle received images within 48 hours of being at a restaurant with Taylor, his wife and three victims.
11:45 a.m. UPDATE: The prosecution called detective Darin Odier to testify. They went over Fogle's texts with an 18-year-old prostitute from Las Vegas he had paid for sex.
Odier read Fogle's texts. DeBrota read the woman's texts.
In the summer of 2011, Fogle texted her: "I'll pay you big for a 14- or 15-year-old."
Another text to her: "Did you find me some young girls or boys?"
She asked how much she would be paid.
"Depends if they can prove their age," Fogle texted.
He said $400 for the finder's fee at least $300 for sex if the person is good looking.
DeBrota read other text exchanges with different people, including "minor victim 13" in Dec. 2012.
They had sex and later he texted, "I have a business proposition for you." Fogle wanted the prostitute to find young girls for him and that he would "pay you very well for the introduction."
"How young do you think you can find?" Fogle asked her.
11:35 a.m. UPDATE: DeBrota cross-examined May, asking again about Bradford's diagnosis of "weak pedophilia."
"That's not a diagnosis, is it?" DeBrota. "In your field, either a person is a pedophile or not."
May said he does not use the term "weak pedophilia."
11:30 a.m. UPDATE: May addressed Fogle's future.
"I wish we would have had more time," he said. "I think he has a lot of additional work he can do therapeutically."
The therapy is difficult so the person has to be motivated to go through it, May said, and Fogle always had a good attitude.
May said he's willing to continue therapy with Fogle if he's sent to prison in Colorado.
11:25 a.m. UPDATE: Fogle had 100 hours of therapy with May over a month. He spent five hours per day on the therapy. That schedule was because of the upcoming sentencing.
There is a suicide evaluation with every client, May said without going into detail.
Fogle completed a written sexual history from his first sexual memory to the present to assess the extent of the problem, May said. May said one of the things he looks for is whether the person acknowledges his behavior. Fogle admitted his behavior "from the first day."
May was asked about the children in Taylor's videos.
"He had, in my view, a much better understanding of the potential damage done to someone that young ... brought into a sexual situation," May said. "He had probably less understanding of the damage done to adults in the prostitution involvement."
May said Fogle was "ashamed and remorseful" about the victims Taylor recorded.
Regarding the prostitutes, May said, "Initially, he justified that behavior based on it being a commercial transaction. There wasn't a lot of empathy of understanding of these women as individuals."
11:12 a.m.: UDPATE: Psychologist Rick May of Aurora, Colo., is testifying for the defense. He is being questioned by Jeremy Margolis.
11:10 a.m. UPDATE: DeBrota establishes that Fogle's crimes are hard-to-detect behavior that went on a for a long period of time.
DeBrota establishes that viewing child pornography, and the research on it, is not the same as for someone who "conspires with a producer to get the collected material." That's a reference to Russell Taylor, former head of Fogle's foundation, supplying Fogle with images.
11:06 a.m. UPDATE: Fogle spent a minimum of $12,000 per year on prostitutes, Bradford said.
11:05 a.m. UPDATE: DeBrota asked Bradford about Fogle viewing images of children as young as 6. Bradford said that's still consistent with his diagnosis of "weak pedophilia."
DeBrota tried to make the point that Fogle is indeed interested in young children.
Fogle had "occasional fantasies" of sex with children, Bradford said.
"Not that he doesn't have an interest in children, but he has never laid a hand on, or molested, a child," Bradford said.
DeBrota asserted there were a lot images of young children among the pornography that Fogle viewed.
"If there is a category called 'weak pedophilia' that's not hands-on (behavior), it doesn't matter" that Taylor provided him porn of young girls? DeBrota asked.
10:54 a.m. UPDATE: Prosecutor Steve DeBrota, cross-examing Bradford, asked him about "mild" or "weak" pedophilia and whether those terms are used by other experts in his field.
Bradford said they are not used by other experts.
"So that's a term you've come up with to provide scaling to the word pedophilia?" DeBrota said.
Bradford said yes.
10:50 a.m. UPDATE: Bradford said treatment of mild pedophilia and hyper-sexuality would be counseling and a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, or antidepressant.
Bradford said viewing child porn and sex with 16- and 17-year-old prostitutes "are not offenses that carry with them a high risk of recidivism."
10:45 a.m. UPDATE: Bradford said Fogle had "mild or infrequent fantasies about pre-pubertal children," but the psychiatrist said his diagnosis is "mild pedophilia."
"There's no evidence I know that he molested a child," Bradford said.
Asked about Fogle's sex with 16- and 17-year-old minors, Bradford replied, "16- or 17-year-olds are not pre-pubertal children."
10:40 a.m. UPDATE: Bradford said Fogle was unlike rapists and child molesters in rationalizations about their behavior.
"He didn't have those types of cognitive distortions that you would see in those individuals," Bradford said.
Fogle had "sexual arousal testing." That included "visual stimulations" such as slides of men and women, and boys and girls, of different ages.
Bradford said he was concerned about Fogle's eating disorder from childhood to college.
"Once he lost weight, it seemed as though in a short time he had hyper-sexuality," he said. "There are brain disorders that can be associated with sexual drive."
Bradford said Fogle had fantasies of young females, age 12 or 13, but his main interest was older minors.
"Looking at all of this, I believe he did suffer from pedophilia, except it didn't involve acting out with a child. He denies he ever touched a child."
10:30 a.m. UPDATE: Bradford said his evaluation of Fogle included a blood test for "hormones responsible for sexual drives," a list of questions and a test measuring "sexual interest."
Bradford questioned Fogle about his sexual past and his criminal activity.
"He gave me a very extensive history of how this happened and, in his words, what kind of problem it was," Bradford said.
"He was mostly attracted to females who were teenagers, who were 14 to 17 years of age. His attraction was at the high end of that range.
"He started to view pornography in college (at Indiana University) and had an extensive collection of pornography."
10:20 a.m. UPDATE: Forensic psychiatrist John Bradford of the University of Ottawa is testifying for the defense by phone. He's being questioned by Fogle attorney Andrew Richard DeVooght.
10:15 a.m. UPDATE: The hearing has resumed.
10:10 a.m. UPDATE: So far, the hearing has involved routine questions that have elicited virtually no new public information.
After the break, forensic psychiatrist John Bradford of the University of Ottawa and psychologist Rick May of Aurora, Colo., are expected to testify for the defense.
10:02 a.m. UPDATE: "How do you plead to the charges?" the judge asked Fogle before reading the two counts.
"Guilty," Fogle replied.
The judge moved on to the sentencing phase of the hearing. She went over aggravating circumstances such as Fogle possessing over 600 images of child porn. She also went over mitigating circumstances such as giving authorities timely notification that he intended to plead guilty. That, the judge said, saved victims from having to testify and saved the government money for the trial.
The judge called for a 10-minute break.
When the hearing continues, a witness for Fogle will testify by phone. Fogle is also expected to speak.
9:45 a.m. UPDATE: The judge read the details of the case, including the use of multiple hidden cameras by Russell Taylor, former head of Fogle's foundation, to record explicit images of minors that Fogle viewed.
Fogle had knowledge of what Taylor was doing, meaning he could have stopped the crimes and spared numerous victims.
Taylor has also agreed to plead guilty and awaits sentencing next month.
Fogle continued to keep his head and up and his eyes on the judge as she read details such as, "You engaged in sexual intercourse with minor victim No. 13" and that some of the images he viewed were of minors as young as 6.
9:35 a.m. UPDATE: Fogle has paid $100,000 each to 12 of the 14 victims. Fogle's lawyer said there was "some question" about processing payments to the other two victims. Fogle gave prosecutors a $200,000 check before the hearing for the remaining victims.
9:30 a.m. UPDATE: Fogle kept his head up and looked at the judge as she read the conditions of his release when he's out of prison. That includes not viewing pornography.
Fogle's lawyer interjected about unsupervised visits with his client's own children, both of whom are under 5. He said Fogle's crimes did not involve young children.
"Adolescents, yes," the lawyer said. "Children, no."
Fogle has admitted to traveling to pay for sex with two minors, one 16 and the other 17 at the time. The pornography he viewed, however, did include children as young as 6, according to filings by the prosecution.
Prosecutor Steven DeBrota told the judge there is no evidence Fogle abused his own children, and that investigators did look into that. DeBrota did not object to unsupervised visitation if there are no objections by his family.
9:15 a.m. UPDATE: The judge went through routine questions about Fogle understanding the rights he's giving up by pleading guilty. She is also reading the laws Fogle violated.
Fogle is expected to address the court at the hearing. It will be his first public comments about the case.
9:08 a.m. UPDATE: The hearing started with Fogle and his lawyers standing at a lectern.
“Are you prepared to go forward?” the judge said.
“Yes, your honor,” Fogle replied.
9 a.m. UPDATE: Judge Tanya Walton Pratt has entered the courtroom. She has a reputation for tough sentencing.
"We're on the record," she said. "This is the United States of America vs. Jared Fogle."
8:40 a.m. UPDATE: Fogle is sitting at a table and talking with his attorney, Jeremy Margolis. The prosecution will be led by assistant U.S. attorney Steven DeBrota.
An overflow room is set up for media and spectators in the courtroom of judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. There are about 25 reporters and spectators.
8:14 AM UPDATE: Former Subway sandwich pitchman Jared Fogle arrived at the federal courthouse and strode briskly inside where he will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Thursday for possession of child pornography and and traveling across a state line to have sex with a minor.
EARLIER: Former Subway sandwich pitchman Jared Fogle will be sentenced in federal court in Indianapolis on Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of traveling across state lines to have sex with a minor.
Here are five things to know:
The hearing
It begins at 9 a.m. in Room 344 of the federal courthouse in Indianapolis, and could last as long as a few hours. There will be an overflow room for media and the public to watch a live video feed.
Spectators in the courtroom will have to turn off their electronic devices, not just silenced. People in the overflow room are allowed to use electronic devices for email, blogging and tweeting, but video and audio recordings, and photos, are prohibited.
The judge issued a decorum order this week to spell out the rules.
IndyStar will have the latest on the sentencing throughout Thursday. On Twitter, follow Star reporter @jdisis, who will live-tweet the hearing using the hashtag #JaredFogle.
IndyStar reporter Tim Evans summarizes the details of the plea hearing for ex-Subway pitchman Jared Fogle who faces charges related to sex with minors and possessing child porn, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015. Stephen Beard/The Star
The sentence
Under federal law, Fogle faces a sentence of five to 50 years.
Fogle's attorneys are asking for five years. Federal prosecutors are asking for 12½ years. A presentencing report recommends 11 years and three months to 14 years.
The judge will make the final decision within the five to 50 range.
The judge
U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt is widely considered the toughest judge in the Southern District in terms of prison sentences.
Pratt, appointed to the bench in 2010, is Indiana's first African-American federal judge. From 2008 to 2010, she was a judge in the Marion Superior Court, Probate Division.
She served as presiding judge of the Marion Superior Court, Criminal Division, from 1997 to 2008. She was elected Marion Superior Court judge in November 1996.
Fogle will speak
Fogle’s first public statement about his actions will come in the courtroom. In a filing last week, defense attorneys said Fogle will speak in a legal process called allocution. That process allows a defendant to make a statement, but not be questioned by prosecutors.
Fogle's attorneys also have notified the court that forensic psychiatrist John Bradford of the University of Ottawa and psychologist Rick May of Aurora, Colo., will testify.
It's uncertain whether any of the victims will speak.
The prison
The judge likely will decide to have Fogle taken into custody immediately, given that he has had three months of home detention since agreeing to plead guilty. It is possible, though, that Pratt would allow him to start his prison sentence in a few weeks.
The judge can make a recommendation for where Fogle is sent, but after he is taken into custody, the Bureau of Prisons will make the decision. A spokesman for the bureau declined comment. It's likely Fogle will be taken to one of two prisons in Kentucky — Grayson County in Leitchfield or Henderson County in Henderson — both of which have a contract for short-term incarceration of federal convicts.
Within a few weeks, Fogle would be transferred to a long-term facility. It's uncertain where Fogle will be assigned, but the federal prison system includes two medium-security facilities for the treatment of resident sex offenders with an "elevated risk of reoffending" — in Marion, Ill., and Devens, Mass.
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