INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 19 (UPI) — Ex-Subway spokesman Jared Fogle will plead guilty Wednesday to child porn accusations levied against him after a July 7 raid on his home.
Fogle will accept a plea deal Wednesday, FOX59 reported. Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will hold a press conference to discuss the deal and the charges that Fogle is facing. Fogle’s attorney, Ron Elberger, refused to comment, and Subway tweeted that “we no longer have a relationship with Jared and have no further comment.”
Deb Hileman, president of the Institute for Crisis Management, said that Subway’s use of Jared Fogle’s actual identity has complicated the company’s marketing strategy because it must now find another spokesman. Companies like McDonald’s and Progressive Insurance create characters like Ronald McDonald and Flo to avoid this problem.
Federal and state investigators searched Fogle’s home and seized several computers and DVDs in response to search warrants that were part of a child pornography investigation.
This investigation was in turn prompted by the arrest of Fogle’s former Jared Foundation director, Russell Taylor, earlier this year. Taylor was accused of possessing and producing child pornography. More than 500 videos with such images were found at his home, and in May, Taylor unsuccessfully attempted to kill himself while in custody.
Fogle became a spokesman for Subway after he gained notoriety for losing massive amounts of weight thanks to a strict Subway sandwich diet. He later appeared in various Subway commercials touting the chain’s healthy options.
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