Left Wings
2017-03-05 06:27:28 UTC
INDIANAPOLIS Subway executives were notified at least three
times that former pitchman Jared Fogle had a sexual interest in
children and had exploited them, but failed to act, a lawsuit
filed Monday alleges.
Instead, the lawsuit says, the international sandwich franchise
ignored the complaints, promoted Fogle as a family man and sent
him to speak with children as part of the company's educational
initiatives.
The lawsuit that alleges widespread institutional negligence and
harm comes from the person who seemingly knew Fogle best: his ex-
wife, Kathleen McLaughlin. Yet McLaughlin claims that she did
not know of Fogle's child exploitation. The complaint says she
never would have married him had Subway reported allegations
against Fogle to the authorities.
Attorneys for McLaughlin filed a lawsuit against Subway on her
behalf in Hamilton Superior Court on Monday. Fogle is serving
nearly 16 years in a federal prison for child pornography
convictions. IndyStar has reached out to Subway for comment, and
has not yet received a response.
"I filed this lawsuit because I have questions," McLaughlin told
reporters in a teary statement on Monday afternoon in the
Noblesville office of her attorneys at the firm, Church, Church,
Hittle + Antrim.
McLaughlin said her main focus is getting answers about what
Subway knew about Fogle's sexual interest in children, and when
they knew it. But she is also requesting an unspecified amount
of damages.
Subway turned Fogle's family into a marketing tool, the suit
says, and used their likenesses without their consent.
"Subway's ambition for sales and growth" came at expense of
Fogle's wife and children, the suit alleges.
As early as 2004, Subway's senior vice president of marketing
was told that Fogle approached a young girl for a sex act at a
Las Vegas Subway event. Subway sent a public relations manager
to ask Fogle and a franchisee about the incident. Subway did not
contact the girl and did nothing more, the suit alleges.
In 2008, the suit alleges, Cindy Mills, a franchisee in Florida,
told former Subway CEO Jeff Moody that she had a disturbing
conversation with Fogle in which he told her he had sex with
minors and liked them young.
In 2011, the suit says, a Florida journalist made a complaint
through Subway's website, reporting that Fogle told her he was
interested in children.
In those cases, the lawsuit says, the company sent public
relations officials to speak with Fogle, but took no further
action.
In the 2008 instance, the lawsuit says, Mills reported that
Moody told her: "Please don't tell me any more. Don't worry, he
has met someone. She is a teacher and he seems to love her very
much, and we think she will keep him grounded."
Moody referred to McLaughlin, who married Fogle in 2010. The
pair had two children, who are now 3 and 5 years old.
"To the victims of my ex-husband, you are never far from my
thoughts and prayers," McLaughlin said on Monday. "I can only
imagine what you have been going through. A mother's most basic
instinct is to protect her children, and this is one of the most
horrific of crimes."
McLaughlin said her young children often ask her questions about
prison. When they get older, she said, she expects they will
continue to ask questions about their father, and what
McLaughlin alleges was an institutional failure on Subway's part.
First a household name because of his story of extreme weight
loss, Fogle last year became known instead for his exploitation
of children and use of child pornography.
A federal judge in November sentenced him to 15 years and eight
months in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession or
distribution of child pornography and traveling across state
lines to have commercial sex with a minor.
The case became a national media story in July 2015 when law
enforcement officers raided Fogle's Zionsville, Ind., home.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2016/10/24/jared-
fogle-ex-wife-sues-subway/92679662/
times that former pitchman Jared Fogle had a sexual interest in
children and had exploited them, but failed to act, a lawsuit
filed Monday alleges.
Instead, the lawsuit says, the international sandwich franchise
ignored the complaints, promoted Fogle as a family man and sent
him to speak with children as part of the company's educational
initiatives.
The lawsuit that alleges widespread institutional negligence and
harm comes from the person who seemingly knew Fogle best: his ex-
wife, Kathleen McLaughlin. Yet McLaughlin claims that she did
not know of Fogle's child exploitation. The complaint says she
never would have married him had Subway reported allegations
against Fogle to the authorities.
Attorneys for McLaughlin filed a lawsuit against Subway on her
behalf in Hamilton Superior Court on Monday. Fogle is serving
nearly 16 years in a federal prison for child pornography
convictions. IndyStar has reached out to Subway for comment, and
has not yet received a response.
"I filed this lawsuit because I have questions," McLaughlin told
reporters in a teary statement on Monday afternoon in the
Noblesville office of her attorneys at the firm, Church, Church,
Hittle + Antrim.
McLaughlin said her main focus is getting answers about what
Subway knew about Fogle's sexual interest in children, and when
they knew it. But she is also requesting an unspecified amount
of damages.
Subway turned Fogle's family into a marketing tool, the suit
says, and used their likenesses without their consent.
"Subway's ambition for sales and growth" came at expense of
Fogle's wife and children, the suit alleges.
As early as 2004, Subway's senior vice president of marketing
was told that Fogle approached a young girl for a sex act at a
Las Vegas Subway event. Subway sent a public relations manager
to ask Fogle and a franchisee about the incident. Subway did not
contact the girl and did nothing more, the suit alleges.
In 2008, the suit alleges, Cindy Mills, a franchisee in Florida,
told former Subway CEO Jeff Moody that she had a disturbing
conversation with Fogle in which he told her he had sex with
minors and liked them young.
In 2011, the suit says, a Florida journalist made a complaint
through Subway's website, reporting that Fogle told her he was
interested in children.
In those cases, the lawsuit says, the company sent public
relations officials to speak with Fogle, but took no further
action.
In the 2008 instance, the lawsuit says, Mills reported that
Moody told her: "Please don't tell me any more. Don't worry, he
has met someone. She is a teacher and he seems to love her very
much, and we think she will keep him grounded."
Moody referred to McLaughlin, who married Fogle in 2010. The
pair had two children, who are now 3 and 5 years old.
"To the victims of my ex-husband, you are never far from my
thoughts and prayers," McLaughlin said on Monday. "I can only
imagine what you have been going through. A mother's most basic
instinct is to protect her children, and this is one of the most
horrific of crimes."
McLaughlin said her young children often ask her questions about
prison. When they get older, she said, she expects they will
continue to ask questions about their father, and what
McLaughlin alleges was an institutional failure on Subway's part.
First a household name because of his story of extreme weight
loss, Fogle last year became known instead for his exploitation
of children and use of child pornography.
A federal judge in November sentenced him to 15 years and eight
months in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession or
distribution of child pornography and traveling across state
lines to have commercial sex with a minor.
The case became a national media story in July 2015 when law
enforcement officers raided Fogle's Zionsville, Ind., home.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2016/10/24/jared-
fogle-ex-wife-sues-subway/92679662/