Subway's Jared Fogle Child Porn Guilty Plea - Merge

[roddma]

Subway cut ties with Jared Fogle, the Subway Diet guy, after he was investigated for child porn.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/08/us/indiana-subway-fogle/

[MalteseBaby]

I think Subway showed a lot of integrity by cutting all ties immediately after this news broke.

TLC should be so involved in the cause of protecting minors!

IF the investigation of Jared by the FBI turns up negative for child porn, then great for him and the children. He can choose the organizers of his child anti-obesity charity with professional vetting and background checks in the future, and leave his old college pals alone.

I think his name is tainted as far as the Subway job goes, though. I don't see any coming back from that.

[DeFrauder]

It is kind of sad if this child porn stuff has nothing to do with Jared and that they are grabbing his computers because he is running the foundation out of his home office.

[DGayle]

Jared isn't the persons suspected of participating in child porn. I think it's sad that he's being punished for something another adult did, and there isn't even an accusation that he might have known.

[MatthewDuggar]

They had a piece about this on the local news where a teacher that worked with Jared who is part of the investigation was interviewed with her voice skewed and in shadows. She stated that Jared made comments to her about how he thought junior high school girls were "hot", among other things... there's a lot more to this mess.

[SamE]

They had a piece about this on the local news where a teacher that worked with Jared who is part of the investigation was interviewed with her voice skewed and in shadows. She stated that Jared made comments to her about how he thought junior high school girls were "hot", among other things... there's a lot more to this mess.

...and she gets her 15 minutes of fame.

[Walking Cat Bed]

...and she gets her 15 minutes of fame.

If there's no name, her voice is distorted, and she's shadowed, there's not much fame to get.

[Firiel]

...and she gets her 15 minutes of fame.

Just like those Cosby women and those women who told their story on Recovering Grace.

This world needs fewer fame-whores.

:roll:

[SamE]

Why does everyone assume he's guilty? I will say again, I was FALSELY accused of sexual harassment by an employee who had a vendetta against me. Everyone assumes you are guilty, if you are investigated. It was proven that he was lying, but not until after my reputation was tarnished.

[Firiel]

Why does everyone assume he's guilty? I will say again, I was FALSELY accused of sexual harassment by an employee who had a vendetta against me. Everyone assumes you are guilty, if you are investigated. It was proven that he was lying, but not until after my reputation was tarnished.

I am actually not assuming he's guilty. I really don't know. There are a few steps between saying creepy things about junior high kids and possessing child porn. Even if he said some off-putting things, he may still have nothing to do with the porn case. I have no idea. I'm not an investigator in the case-- just a random on the Internet.

I'm just not assuming that anyone who speaks against him is doing it for their own personal gain/fame.

[Maggie Mae]

I'm not convinced that saying someone looks "hot" is necessarily creepy. Because of the way our language has changed - even from when I was a 12 year old - "hot" doesn't necessarily mean "sexy" anymore. Of course, I could be completely wrong and he's a creep.

I just hate to see the lynch mob out for blood when all the facts aren't in yet.

[MatthewDuggar]

I'm not convinced that saying someone looks "hot" is necessarily creepy. Because of the way our language has changed - even from when I was a 12 year old - "hot" doesn't necessarily mean "sexy" anymore. Of course, I could be completely wrong and he's a creep.

I just hate to see the lynch mob out for blood when all the facts aren't in yet.

I totally agree. Jared may just not be good at expressing himself properly. They didn't say what the context was of the conversation either, which would help tremendously in trying to figure out what he really meant by saying that.

[MalteseBaby]

Just like those Cosby women and those women who told their story on Recovering Grace.

This world needs fewer fame-whores.

:roll:

Firiel:

NO, the world needs more STRONG WOMEN who will do what Jared's friend did, and what Gothard's survivors did--- To stand up and tell the world the truth about the evil men do against women and children, you hateful thing.

You're actually calling the young women who stood up and told the truth about Bill Gothard and did more to have him removed from IBLP than anyone else fame whores?

They used different names, not their real names. Their photos are 20 years old. How the hell is that being a " fame whore"?

Likewise with the informant against Jared- name and face not known, voice changed electronically.

I think you are a mean- spirited bitch to ever cast one bit of shade on those women, whom most of the anti- fundie community believe suffered greatly at Gothard's hands.

[Walking Cat Bed]

Firiel:

NO, the world needs more STRONG WOMEN who will do what Jared's friend did, and what Gothard's survivors did--- To stand up and tell the world the truth about the evil men do against women and children, you hateful thing.

You're actually calling the young women who stood up and told the truth about Bill Gothard and did more to have him removed from IBLP than anyone else fame whores?

They used different names, not their real names. Their photos are 20 years old. How the hell is that being a " fame whore"?

Likewise with the informant against Jared- name and face not known, voice changed electronically.

I think you are a mean- spirited bitch to ever cast one bit of shade on those women, whom most of the anti- fundie community believe suffered greatly at Gothard's hands.

That eye-rolling smiley usually connotes sarcasm -- not to put words in Firiel's mouth, but y'all are saying the exact same thing.

We, random strangers on the internet, need more evidence before we can responsibly believe the teacher that's quoted (albeit with their identity concealed). I will not assume they are lying, but there's a chance of misquoting or misunderstanding -- or that their statement is completely accurate and reveals ugly, scary secrets.

[Firiel]

Firiel:

NO, the world needs more STRONG WOMEN who will do what Jared's friend did, and what Gothard's survivors did--- To stand up and tell the world the truth about the evil men do against women and children, you hateful thing.

You're actually calling the young women who stood up and told the truth about Bill Gothard and did more to have him removed from IBLP than anyone else fame whores?

They used different names, not their real names. Their photos are 20 years old. How the hell is that being a " fame whore"?

Likewise with the informant against Jared- name and face not known, voice changed electronically.

I think you are a mean- spirited bitch to ever cast one bit of shade on those women, whom most of the anti- fundie community believe suffered greatly at Gothard's hands.

Oh, cool your jets. It was sarcasm towards the post I quoted. Signaled by the eye-rolling emoji.

I'm not a mean-spirited bitch. I just over-estimated the eye-rolling emoji as a signifier of sarcasm, apparently. :shrug:

[thoughtful]

I just read through this thread, and didn't see anyone post that there was mention of Jared in some files on thumb drives that belonged to the former employee who was convicted of possessing child porn.

It must have been relevant enough that the authorities felt it was worth investigating Jared's computers and storage devices.

He may have done nothing wrong, and he may have done something awful. The charity and Subway may know more than we do, and they may have just decided it wasn't worth having him associated with them, either way.

[Firiel]

I just read through this thread, and didn't see anyone post that there was mention of Jared in some files on thumb drives that belonged to the former employee who was convicted of possessing child porn.

It must have been relevant enough that the authorities felt it was worth investigating Jared's computers and storage devices.

He may have done nothing wrong, and he may have done something awful. The charity and Subway may know more than we do, and they may have just decided it wasn't worth having him associated with them, either way.

Thanks-- I hadn't seen that aspect of the story.

[roddma]

Calling minors 'hot' may seem creepy, but it isn't sexual harassment. Yet this says directly calling someone at work 'sweetie' 'honey' is sexual harassment. Ive been called that by other non related men and never take offense.

http://www.doi.gov/pmb/eeo/Sexual-Harassment.cfm

[MalteseBaby]

Oh, cool your jets. It was sarcasm towards the post I quoted. Signaled by the eye-rolling emoji.

I'm not a mean-spirited bitch. I just over-estimated the eye-rolling emoji as a signifier of sarcasm, apparently. :shrug:

I'm sorry. To be honest, so many emojis used here, and I'm not used to analyzing them. I'm not big on social media at ALL.. no twitter, no instagram, no pinintrest, no Facebook, nothing because of a past stalker who is now out of prison. My deficit, my circus and my monkeys to own this time.

I didn't note the sarcasm at all and was taking your words at face value, as they say. Again, I'm so sorry. My jets are cool, and my apology is sincere.

[DGayle]

Firiel:

NO, the world needs more STRONG WOMEN who will do what Jared's friend did, and what Gothard's survivors did--- To stand up and tell the world the truth about the evil men do against women and children, you hateful thing.

Fame-whores are the people who don't really have anything to add, but who will try to connect themselves to something anyway. Let's say Jared said those girls looked hot with it was 100 outside and they were playing soccer. A fame-whore would say, "Jared called pre-teen girls 'hot'!" Since nobody else knows the context, that person could tell her friends and family "in confidence" that she told on him.

That's so different than somebody with real information, like let's say Jared was leering at a group of girls, licking his lips, and saying those girls are sexy and he's like to "tap that," and the woman he was talking to spoke up about it right away.

I'm not taking that comment about him calling some girls "hot" at face value partly because whoever that person was didn't say anything before this.

[Firiel]

I'm sorry. To be honest, so many emojis used here, and I'm not used to analyzing them. I'm not big on social media at ALL.. no twitter, no instagram, no pinintrest, no Facebook, nothing because of a past stalker who is now out of prison. My deficit, my circus and my monkeys to own this time.

I didn't note the sarcasm at all and was taking your words at face value, as they say. Again, I'm so sorry. My jets are cool, and my apology is sincere.

It's no problem. :)

I was a little overly annoyed at first, as evidenced in my somewhat terse explanation of what I meant. But I've cooled my own jets. Misunderstandings happen on the Internet. It's no big deal at all. :)

[ShepherdontheRock]

Judging from what I see on the media, there's probably more to the story that law enforcement isn't telling us. I have a feeling that they don't just seize/search computers on someone if they haven't been up to something. And I imagine in child pornography cases, particularly ones involving celebrities, there's a great need for law enforcement confidentiality.

And while I agree, there are people who say creepy things that aren't sexual predators, I think it's still really odd to say that preteenagers look hot, and I don't think she'd have said that if there weren't relevant context for that.

[TenderloinTrash]

Here's a pretty lengthy article about what (supposedly) happened

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015 ... /30033019/

[Maggie Mae]

Here's a pretty lengthy article about what (supposedly) happened

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015 ... /30033019/

UGH that link has the worst paywall "answer this survey question"

Can you copy & paste the text or screenshot it please? Sorry to be a burden.

[Firiel]

Russ Taylor spent the last decade working for non-profit groups that focused on helping kids.

In that role, he visited schools to promote a healthy lifestyle and the fight against childhood obesity.

It was a job that required travel, and it brought him into contact with athletes and celebrities.

By all outward appearances, he was dedicated to children’s issues.

But there was another, dangerous and dark side to Russell Charles Taylor Jr., according to federal authorities, who in May accused the Indianapolis man of producing and possessing child pornography. It is a dramatically different image from the low-profile public persona of the man who headed the Jared Foundation, promoting the youth outreach work of longtime Subway pitchman Jared Fogle.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Jared Foundation's ex-director faces federal child porn charges

Today, Taylor is in federal custody following a failed suicide attempt at the Marion County Jail just days after his arrest.

And on Tuesday federal and state authorities raided Fogle’s Zionsville home. Subway said in a statement that the raid appeared to be “related to a prior investigation of a former Jared Foundation employee.â€

Fogle, the North Central and Indiana University grad who has amassed a fortune estimated at $15 million from representing Subway, has not been detained or charged with any crime. Whether or not the case against Taylor will lead to charges against Fogle remains a mystery.

His attorney Ron Elberger said Fogle looks forward to the conclusion of the “investigation of unspecified charges.†He said Fogle is cooperating with investigators.

But court records in Taylor’s case indicate he, too, may be cooperating with authorities. Weeks before Fogle’s home was raided, Taylor agreed to suspend his right to a speedy resolution to allow investigators more time to prepare charges.

The question is why? And to what end?

Who is Taylor?

Taylor’s background is difficult to piece together. Parts of his Facebook bio didn’t check out. Several people listed among his 52 Facebook friends declined comment when contacted.

Taylor is pictured among the seniors in Martinsville High School’s 1989 yearbook, and it’s the only high school he listed on Facebook. But school officials said he attended only briefly and did not graduate.

Russell Taylor, 43, Executive Director of Jared Foundation,

Russell Taylor, 43, Executive Director of Jared Foundation, charged with child porn, child exploitation and voyeurism. (Photo: Indianapolis State Police)

In 1989, Taylor graduated from Good Shepherd Baptist Academy in Mooresville, according to a 1991 article in the Reporter-Times of Morgan County.

In 1991, Taylor graduated from six weeks of what the Reporter-Times described as “Air Force basic training†in Texas. It said he was a “reserve airman†and that the training included credits toward an associate degree from the Community College of the Air Force.

Taylor’s Facebook page says he studied management at Indiana Wesleyan University. His LinkedIn profile also listed IWU under education. But school officials said he was only enrolled in an adult education program and did not complete the classes to earn an associate degree.

Taylor appears to have been married at least two times, and filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

When he wasn’t working, Taylor spent time with his two adolescent sons — his Facebook page is filled with photographs of them together at carnivals and youth sporting events.

Court records from Marion County indicate was divorced in 2000 and in February began a divorce proceeding from his new wife, but that case remains pending.

For work, Taylor listed the American Heart Association of Indiana, which confirmed his employment from 2004 to 2007 as a youth market director in Indianapolis.

“In that position, he worked with school administrators and teachers to organize school-based events,†spokeswoman Carrie Thacker said in an email to The Star. “He would not have had unsupervised contact with children at these events.â€

Thacker said Taylor left his job with the association voluntarily in 2007, the year he was hired by the Jared Foundation.

Indianapolis attorney Brad Banks, who is representing Taylor, said it is his understanding that Taylor and Fogle met through Taylor’s work at the American Heart Association.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

How will Subway pitchman Jared Fogle weather FBI investigation?

Taylor also listed himself as owner and managing director of “Blue Outhouse Studios†in West Hollywood, Calif., on his Facebook page. But California’s Secretary of State’s Office has no record of a business with that name and an online search turns up nothing.

Jared Foundation

Taylor left his post at the American Heart Association to head the Jared Foundation. He was the Indianapolis-based foundation’s only paid employee, earning about $40,000 a year, according to federal tax documents.

His role in the organization is unclear, but news reports indicate Fogle made hundreds of school visits on behalf of his foundation. Promoted as “The Subway Guy,†he spoke to students about the need for a healthy diet and exercise, and he sometimes gave away Subway products. Taylor was photographed at some such events.

Organizers of one of them told The Star the event was not arranged by Taylor or Fogle. It was set up by a local Subway franchisee.

After Taylor’s arrest, the foundation’s telephone number was disconnected and its website was recently shut down. Its future status is unknown.

But the Jared Foundation has not been authorized to operate in Indiana since 2012, when the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office administratively dissolved its business registration certification, according to communications director spokeswoman Valerie Kroeger.

“If you are doing business in the state,†she said, “you have to be registered in the state.â€

The state’s action came after the foundation, which raised more than $125,000 in 2013, failed to pay a $5 annual registration fee or file the required reports, she said.

Kroeger said the foundation last paid the fee and filed an annual report in 2009 and, despite numerous notices, never took the steps to come back into compliance. The Secretary of State’s Office does not have any additional authority to initiate other disciplinary proceedings, she said, and the state’s action is unrelated to the foundation’s federal non-profit status.

And, in fact, the foundation remained in good standing as a public charity with the IRS as of Friday, according to the agency’s website.

A life unravels

Life for Taylor — and perhaps now for Fogle — began to unravel when a woman who knew Taylor and his wife approached Indiana State Police Master Trooper Patrick Etter in September.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Former Jared Foundation executive facing child porn charges attempted suicide

The woman, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe, told Etter that Russell Taylor offered to send her images or videos of young girls through text messages, according to an affidavit in support of a search warrant filed in April in federal court in Indianapolis.

That report was passed on to an IMPD Cybercrime Unit detective, and an investigation was launched.

“Russell Taylor made this offer during a series of text messages that included discussions of sexual matters, including bestiality and sadistic or masochistic abuse,†the detective wrote in the affidavit.

Investigators from several law enforcement agencies participated in the probe, which ramped up following an interview with Jane Doe in early October. The woman told police she had not deleted the messages from Taylor “which concerned her†and gave them access to her cellphone.

The women told police she had become friends with Taylor and his wife through her husband, who had died in 2013. “During the course of that friendship,†the affidavit said, “text messages concerning sexual matters were exchanged between Jane Doe, Russell Taylor†and his wife, who has not been charged with any crime. She could not be reached for comment for this story.

In one of those text messages, according to Jane Doe, “Russell Taylor asked her if he and another adult female she identified could come to Jane Doe’s residence and engage in†an act of bestiality, the affidavit said. The woman did not agree to that request, but told investigators “you could tell (Taylor) was serious.†She also told investigators that “she received an image file via text from Russell Taylor that depicted (another act of bestiality).â€

The woman said Taylor also asked her if she wanted to see images of young girls and, in one message, he told her that he had traveled to Thailand in the past. The detective noted in the affidavit that “some persons who have sexual interest in children have been known to travel to Thailand in order to engage in child sex tourism.â€

Search warrant issued

After interviewing Jane Doe and examining the contents of text messages and images on her phone, the investigators obtained a warrant to search Taylor’s residence in Indianapolis.

“The purpose of the search,†the affidavit said, “was to look for evidence of bestiality, including images or videos.â€

The probe did not turn up images of bestiality, according to the affidavit, but did reveal a shocking trove of child pornography. The images were of boys and girls, some as young as 9, including several videos that appeared to have been made at Taylor’s current and former homes. There is no indication any of the victims had been involved with the foundation.

Those videos included separate images of three young girls, between the ages of 11 and 16, in a bathroom. The girls were nude, the affidavit said. Another video depicted a young boy in the bathroom, also nude. There were other videos of some of the same children nude in a bedroom.

When detectives interviewed Taylor, he admitted using a clock-radio containing a hidden camera to record activity in his homes.

In all, the court document said, police reported recovering from computers and digital storage devices “over 500 videos,†which were produced between about September 2012 and January 2015. They also recovered text documents containing “stories about bestiality and incest.â€

“The content is consistent,†the affidavit said, “with the purpose of the original investigation of bestiality and with a sexual interest and attraction to children.â€

At least a couple of the items seized by police, two thumb drives, appeared to have a link to his employer, according to the affidavit. It is not clear who is meant by his employer. One was found in the desk of the home office where Taylor did foundation work.

One drive, police said, contained “commercially made child pornography from Eastern Europe similar to that seized on other investigations†and another “document file with Taylor’s employer listed in the file name.â€

In the affidavit, the investigating detective described another drive in which “videos of child pornography and child erotica were recovered.†On that thumb drive, investigators also found “documents related to (Taylor’s) employment as director of a foundation.â€

Another home raided

Last month, after Taylor attempted suicide while in jail, his criminal case took an unusual turn.

Taylor agreed to a request from federal prosecutors for additional time to present their case against him to a grand jury. A notice filed by the U.S. attorney said, “The parties are engaged in discussing several issues regarding this case, and the government believes both parties would benefit from additional time to continue these discussions prior to indictment.â€

A federal magistrate approved that request June 5, extending the deadline for presenting evidence against Taylor until Aug. 3.

“The court finds that this period of delay is warranted,†the magistrate wrote. “The court also finds that the ends of justice will be served by granting this continuance and outweigh the best interests of public and the defendant in a speedy trial.â€

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Jared Fogle home search: What we know

Thirty-two days later, state and federal authorities raided Fogle’s Zionsville home. They spent about 11 hours there Tuesday and removed computers, documents and other items.

Authorities would not discuss why they searched the home or whether they were there only to gather more evidence against Taylor. At that time of Taylor’s arrest, Fogle issued a statement saying he was “shocked†and that his foundation was “severing all ties†with Taylor.

Banks, Taylor’s attorney, declined to comment on the federal government’s case against his client or the search of Fogle’s home. Federal authorities would neither confirm nor deny they are investigating Fogle.

But this much is clear: The recent developments involving Taylor and Fogle have resulted in the at-least-temporary shutdown of Fogle’s 10-year-old charitable foundation and prompted Subway and other partners to back away from the bland-but-likeable everyman who had helped the franchise grow.

Here ya go. I didn't remove the in-text ads, but it's probably easy to recognize and ignore them. :)