In ‘Jared,’ Fogle’s sinister side is detailed
It’s been more than seven years since the feds raided Jared Fogle’s Zionsville, Indiana, home as part of an investigation into child pornography.
Once celebrated for his astonishing 245-pound weight loss, thanks to a diet of Subway’s low-fat sandwiches, authorities uncovered the true Fogle, one that hundreds of commercials failed to capture: a perverse, power-drunk man who abused 14 minors.
Fogle’s undoing is the focus of Investigation Discovery’s three-hour docuseries, “Jared from Subway: Catching a Monster” ( now streaming on Discovery+). Filmmakers interviewed Fogle’s former classmates, radio host-turnedinformant Rochelle Herman – who befriended Fogle to expose his attraction to minors – and two of Fogle’s victims, Christian Showalter and Hannah Parrett. Fogle declined to participate in the docuseries, according to filmmakers.
An informant for the FBI: Rochelle Herman
Herman first met Fogle in 2006 when she hosted him on her local Florida radio show. She was uncomfortable with Fogle’s flirty nature and disturbed when he told her that he found middle school girls hot. Herman, a mother of two, suspected Fogle of deviant behavior and thought if she befriended him and recorded their phone calls, she might obtain evidence she could take to the FBI.
During their chats, he told her he found minors attractive because “They just have such nice, pure bodies.” He said being with someone 9 or 10 would be “really hot.”
Herman took her tapes to the FBI, but the agents told her that because she had recorded Fogle without his knowledge, the tapes were inadmissible in court. So she became an informant for the FBI, keeping up her relationship with Fogle and handing over their taped chats to the agency.
This went on for about three years, and Herman became frustrated. The FBI attempted to lure Fogle to Sarasota, Florida, for a fake children’s birthday party to prove he was willing to cross state lines in order to have sex with a minor. Due to a last-minute change in Fogle’s schedule, he was unable to attend the party and the sting operation was foiled.
A tip about bestiality, the downfall of Russell Taylor
Indiana State Police Capt. Chuck Cohen received a tip that Russell Taylor, then the executive director of Fogle’s philanthropic organization, sent images that depicted bestiality. Cohen explains in the documentary that possessing such images is not illegal, but performing sexual acts with animals is. So authorities obtained a warrant and searched Taylor’s home in April 2015.
During their search, they discovered that Taylor had hidden cameras throughout the home and in the bedrooms of his stepdaughters, Showalter and Parrett. The cameras captured the girls during vulnerable moments, like when they were undressing, as well as their friends. Authorities found more than 500 explicit images.
Through the investigation into Taylor, authorities discovered he had sent an image of a naked minor to Fogle. Fogle responded to the image, asking when he could have sex with the child, which triggered an investigation.
Steven Debrota, an assistant U.S. attorney at the time, says in the docuseries that Taylor gave Fogle a thumb drive and a laptop with child porn. A search warrant was granted and authorities raided Fogle’s home on July 7, 2015.
Fogle pleads guilty
Fogle allegedly spent $12,000 a year on sex workers, Debrota says in “Jared from Subway.” In text messages obtained during the investigation of Fogle, he wrote to an undisclosed recipient, “I’ll pay you big for a 14- or 15-year-old .. ’cause it’s what I crave!” He added: the “Younger the better LOL.”
Debrota says Fogle had sex with underage sex workers while staying at The Plaza and The Ritz-carlton hotels in New York.
In August 2015, Fogle pleaded guilty to possession or distribution of child pornography and traveling across state lines to have commercial sex with a minor. He is serving a 15-year sentence at a Colorado prison.
Contributors: Herald-times, Indystar and Associated Press
Parents in need of talk support can call the National Parent Helpline at 1855-427-2736 or the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-ACHILD. To report child abuse or neglect, contact law enforcement or child protective services in your county.