When ex-Subway spokesman Jared Fogle was charged with child pornography and other sex crimes, his legal team took an unusual approach to his defence – at his trial, an expert witness testified that Fogle’s crimes could be a result of his Subway diet.
The expert, a Dr. John Bradford, claimed that Fogle’s extreme weight loss and Subway diet had caused him to become “hypersexual”, with the Indianapolis Star reporting that Fogle’s consumption of low-fat sandwiches might have resulted in “brain disorders associated with sexual drive”.
Bradford proceeded to insist that Fogle suffered merely from a case of “mild paedophilia” – although, not surprisingly, he revealed on cross-examination that he was the only person in his field prepared to use that term.
Fogle starred in his first Subway “Eat Fresh” commercial in 2000. In 2006, he started the “Jared Foundation”, a charity dedicated to fighting childhood obesity. In July, the FBI and Indiana State Police raided his home to search for evidence of child pornography.
Watch Jared’s first ever Subway commercial here.
In court yesterday, Fogle was charged and convicted with accepting pictures and videos of twelve underage girls engaged in sexual acts. The videos were allegedly recorded in secret by the Jared Foundation’s former executive director, who was arrested in May on similar child pornography charges.
Fogle was also convicted of crossing state lines to engage in sex acts with minors after travelling to New York to meet with young girls in Manhattan hotels.
Despite the defence’s argument that Fogle was “profoundly sorry” for his crimes, Fogle received a sentence of fifteen years and eight months.
Top Comments
Legal arguments are almost irrelevant, it is about winning. The key issue is the perps justification and how therapeutic interventions address that. The legal defence doesn't change offending, the therapy may.