'He's a monster and predator': Sisters abused by Subway pedo Jared Fogle reveal horrifying trauma
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: Two victims of Jared Fogle, a former spokesperson for Subway, have chosen to talk about their experiences. Christian Showalter and Hannah Parrett, two sisters who met Fogle for the first time when they were just 13 and 11, respectively, are now discussing their encounters in the upcoming ID docuseries 'Jared From Subway: Catching a Monster', which will premiere on Monday, March 6.
Fogle is currently in prison for 15 years after committing sexual offences against children. Angela Baldwin, the mother of the sisters, and Russell Taylor, their stepfather, were both found guilty of installing covert cameras throughout their house to secretly record the two girls and their friends "fully nude and/or engaging in sexual activity" and then distributing the video to Fogle and others. Taylor was given a sentence of 27 years in prison, while their mother, with whom they claim to no longer be in contact, received a 33-year prison term.
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Who is Jared Fogle?
Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Jared was chosen as the sandwich chain's spokesperson in 2000 after attributing his weight loss of more than 200 pounds to consuming the chain's food two years earlier. He is currently 45 years old. After working for the company for 15 years, Jared's reputation as a dedicated health enthusiast and do-gooder was rapidly destroyed in 2015 when he was found guilty of possessing or distributing child pornography and travelling across state lines to have sex with a minor. He received a 15-year prison term.
Fogle allegedly made the girls watch porn
Speaking with People, Showalter said, "[Fogle's] a monster. He's just a predator"— prior to disclosing the texts between Fogle and their stepfather they had seen about them and their friends. Parrett added, "I think it was the first time that Jared had ever mentioned anything sexual, Russell had sent a photo of a friend of mine and [me] to Jared."
Parrett added, "And of course, Jared was asking who she was and how I knew her and things like that. And then, he started to make sexual comments about her body and what she looked like. Russell showed these to me and wanted me to express those things to her."
Parrett claimed Fogle would "rate us on a scale of who he would want to have sex with more," as Showalter pointed out "some of them [had] not even hit puberty yet." They claimed he started grooming them, "would want to talk to us about masturbation and sex with our partners at the time" and "would very much so want us to watch porn."
What will 'Jared From Subway: Catching a Monster' cover?
The three-part series from ID promises to unveil Fogle's actual identity as a child sex predator by telling the "previously untold story of the investigation that exposed the monster insidiously lurking behind Fogle's charming persona."
The TV show will follow Fogle's journey to fame after eating at Subway and his subsequent fall from glory. The documentary will also feature interviews with journalist Rochelle Herman, who collaborated with the FBI to look into Fogle, in addition to those with Showalter and Parrett.
'I hate that these things happened, but I love what I'm doing about it'
Speaking with Yahoo, Showalter stated that the two chose to take part in the upcoming documentary "not only have a voice, but maybe be the voice for other people who don't yet have that. And to remind them that, you do have it." She claimed that even though the two are "survivors," they "owed it" to their "inner victims" to speak up in the film about "what happened to them" when they were younger.
Parrett claimed that whenever the issue was discussed, whether in class, in public, or when she read news reports, it always "brought out a lot of negative feelings" for her. She expressed her love for her life as it is today and admitted that by telling people about her experience, she benefits as well. She continued, "I hate that these things happened, but I love what I'm doing about it. And that's what means the most to me," she stated.