A judge sentenced former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle to more than 15 years in prison on Thursday for trading in child pornography and having sex with underage prostitutes.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt disregarded prosecutors’ recommendation that Fogle get 12 years behind bars, opting for a stiffer sentence of 15 years and eight months in prison and ordering him to pay a $175,000 fine. She could have sentenced him to up to 50 years in prison.
In explaining her sentence, Pratt noted how fortunate Fogle was to land his lucrative deal to be Subway’s spokesman after losing a lot of weight in college.
“What a gift, to have such a professional windfall fall in your lap,” she said, adding that Mr. Fogle was living a double life for many of those years.”
Before learning his sentence, the 38-year-old father of two addressed the court, apologizing for the damage he did to his victims and family and vowing to be a better person when he gets out of prison.