by Patrick H. Moore
Those of us who are getting a bit long in the tooth or have even reached the backside of 30 probably remember that unforgettable day when Jared Fogle first burst upon the scene. In 1999, Jared lost 245 pounds in less than a year, going from an alarming 425 pounds with a 60″ waist to 180 pounds with a 34″ waist.
I’m sure most of us felt good for Jared. His was a tale of overcoming a severe life-threatening “disease”; not only that, he apparently greatly enjoyed eating those delicious Subway sandwiches.
By 2000, he was the celebrity spokesperson for Subway, with dramatic “before and after” shots, and also appeared on Oprah and the Today show. No fool (at least we assumed he was no fool), he also earned a business degree at Indiana University.
During the next few years, Jared inspired a Jimmy Fallon parody and a South Park episode. Around that time, a long term Subway employee stated that Jared’s positive impact on Subway sales was completely unprecedented.
During subsequent years, Jared at times packed back on a few of the pounds he had so manfully shed, but hey, who could blame him – he was famous and undeniably prosperous, although not quite as svelte as he had been back when he first became a fixture on our T.V. screens.
Now, I make no claim to labor under the curse/blessing of clairvoyance, but despite Jared’s smashing success, I always sensed that there was something a bit odd about the guy; I couldn’t put my finger on what it was but every time I saw a Jared commercial, I thought: “There’s something about Jared.”
Now it goes without saying that many of us have our share of dark secrets and/or skeletons in our respective closets. As some of you may have sensed, even Old Man Mo’ is (or at least has been) far from an angel at times.
One thing we followers of true crime probably have in common is the sense that we humans, as a species, are conspicuously flawed. Members of our benighted species rape, cheat, lie, steal and murder, and some folks manage to do all of these things.
But in the case of Brother Jared, I certainly never expected him to dramatically fall from grace in such appalling fashion; I just sensed the dude was a little different. But fall from grace he certainly has… On Wednesday in Federal Court in the Southern District of Indiana, Jared expressed his intention to plead guilty to one count of distributing and receiving child pornography and one count of crossing state lines in order to engage in sexual acts with minors. Both counts of conviction carry five year minimum sentences and much higher maximum sentences.
In his Plea Agreement, the parties have thrown out the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and instead agree on the following: The Government promises to ask for no more than a 151 month sentence; Jared agrees to ask for no less than a 60 month sentence, which is the least he can serve by law based on the mandatory minimums. In addition, Jared has agreed to pay $1.4 million in restitution to ten female minor victims.
Based on the evidence, it seems certain that Jared’s “hands-on” victims were all teenagers. No one seems to be implying that he sought out “little children”. Thus, he does not appear to fall into the classic pedophilia category. His partner is crime, however, Russell Taylor, possessed a large number of videos of children in sexually compromising situations, videos that were filmed with hidden cameras. The children were reportedly unaware that they were being filmed in a lascivious manner by Mr. Taylor and his cameras.
In short, it was a “sneak operation”. It’s unclear to me how Mr. Taylor managed to arrange all of this. What is known is the fact Jared received videos depicting these children in sexual poses from Mr. Taylor on numerous occasions and had them in his possession when his house was raided.
My sense is that Jared is likely to receive a sentence of at least 10 years in Federal prison. Because of the nature of his crime, he will not be allowed to serve his time at a Federal prison camp (Club Fed). He is likely to be housed with other sex offenders for his own protection. Sex offenders in Federal custody rarely have to worry about being beaten or killed by other self-righteous inmates. Rather, they wile away their weary hours in the company of others not unlike themselves; in short, they gaze into a sort of mirror from which there is no escape as long as they are imprisoned.
Once released, Jared, like all sex offenders, will have to register with the proper authorities. In theory, he will never be free of surveillance/scrutiny. Thus, even if he gets 10 years or less, he will never again be a truly free man. And keep in mind, although it’s somewhat unlikely, the judge could give Jared a sentence far in excess of the 151 months the Government will be requesting.
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So where does this leave us? Very simple. If you or you or you have a problem with desiring children below the age of consent, even if it’s “just” looking at pictures, you need to get help ASAP. That’s just the way it is. Do not pass go. Do not tell yourself, “This is the last time.” Once is already one time too many.
Most of us have weaknesses, obsessions, bad habits, if you will. In most instances, these bad habits will not destroy our lives, or if they do, the destruction will be slow, albeit perhaps painful. But if you suffer from the sexual vice, your demise when apprehended will be fast, dramatic and horrific. Get help while you still can, my friend. Seriously. After all, you don’t want to shake hands with Jared in the sex offenders’ wing of one of our Federal prisons, do you????