The story swirling around estranged Subway spokesman Jared Fogle just seems to keep getting worse. It’s been close to a month since a child pornography investigation led authorities to Fogle’s doorstep, an act that shined a spotlight on the spokesman and forced the fast food company to distance itself. Since then, we’ve found out that Fogle allegedly ran a porn rental service in college and now we’re hearing that he reportedly solicited Subway employees for sexual acts and bragged about his own activities.
Business Insider got a look at text messages allegedly sent by Fogle that have now been subpoenaed by the FBI, showing the pitchman reportedly talking about paying a 16-year-old for sex and propositioning a Subway franchise owner to sell her body:
The former franchisee shared the texts and her concerns about Fogle with Subway management at the time, her lawyer says, but Subway did nothing. Subway says it has no record of the woman’s complaint…
In the messages, Fogle repeatedly asks the woman — a Subway franchisee at the time — to advertise herself on Craigslist for sex with other men.
He asks her if he can watch the sexual acts and tells her she can make about $500 per act.
The messages in question were recorded by a court reporter in 2008 according to the woman’s lawyer, then officially notarized and added to the record. They span from January to June 2008, during a period that the woman in the complaint was allegedly in a sexual relationship with Fogle. The number connected to the messages was reportedly verified by Business Insider as belonging to Fogle.
The most alarming portion may be the moment when Fogle allegedly requested the woman set up a meeting with him and her underage cousin:
“When can we find a time for me to talk to your cousin?” Fogle asks in a message dated May 1, 2008.
“Any more news with your cousin?” he asks the following day. “Tell me what u think about when u think of the three of us all together???”
Earlier, in April, according to the affidavit, Fogle asked the woman, “How young would you like?… Would you want to have an adventure like that?”
On June 19, the lawyer says that Fogle again asked the woman to advertise herself on Craigslist. She responds: “Is this the same website you found that 16 year old girl you that you f*****? …I still can’t believe you only paid $100 for her.”
Fogle responds: “It was amazing!!!!”
She asks: “What part of her ad made you think she was selling sex?”
He says: “U will have to read them to see.”
Business Insider notes that the age of consent in Indiana, where Fogle resides, is 16. Toss in a news report where the woman claims that Fogle visited schools in Sarasota, Florida and mentioned to her that “Middle school girls are hot,” and the claims seem to take a fairly creepy turn. She would go on to tell WWSB that Fogle’s comments weren’t jokes and were very serious.
In response to the claims, Fogle’s attorney, Ron Elberger, called the story false and saying it “lacks credibility.”
(Via Business Insider / WWSB)