Subway Was Warned Jared Fogle Was A Pedophile, Ex-Franchisee Says

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Aug 28, 2015 3:45PM

Ex-Subway weight-loss mascot Jared Fogle openly admitted to raping children and said he "really liked them young," a former sandwich chain franchisee says. She says she warned her bosses at Subway about several disturbing conversations she had with Fogle seven years ago—but the company didn't take her concerns seriously.

Fogle is expected to plead guilty to several sex crimes against children, including possessing and distributing child porn and traveling across state lines to have sex with a minor. Children cannot give meaningful consent, and having sex with a minor is statutory rape, though rape is not among the criminal charges against him. As a part of his plea, he is expected to pay $1.4 million in restitution to 14 victims, his attorney says.

Subway, the national chain of sandwiches that employed Fogle as a spokesperson for over 15 years, abruptly suspended its relationship with Fogle during an FBI raid of his home earlier this summer, and ended it outright after the charges were announced. But a former Subway franchisee who met Fogle at a Subway event years ago says she warned higher-ups in the chain about Fogle's behavior, which she says including traveling to Thailand to have sex with girls as young as 9.

Cindy Mills told Business Insider that after she met Fogle in early 2008 he began calling her daily with disturbing comments about his sexual interest in young girls. Mills also said he admitted to having sex with minors, including child prostitutes in Thailand and the U.S. between ages 9 and 16.

Mills reported the comments to Subway in 2008 and received no response, she said. Mills also said she spoke directly with Jeff Moody, then-CEO of Subway's Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust. Fogle was never an employee of Subway, but rather was employed by the company's separate global marketing entity.

Moody's response, according to Mills: "He said, 'Don't worry, he has met someone. She is a teacher and he seems to love her very much, and we think she will help keep him grounded.'"

Mills told Business Insider she didn't bring the information to law enforcement because of fear of losing her job. A Florida reporter who met him while he was acting as a spokesman for regional Subway events has been credited with helping the FBI bring Fogle down for the crimes as an informant.