Disgraced former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle is trying to secure himself a reprieve from prison through unusual means.
In a move that’s already raised eyebrows across the nation, convicted pedophile Fogle is invoking the name of another infamous criminal accused of abusing children: Larry Nassar.
Reported first by The Blast and aptly summarized in People, Fogle’s trying to withdraw guilty pleas he’d submitted in 2015. The convictions stem from the distribution and receipt of child pornography as well as ‘traveling to engage in illicit sex with a minor.’
Fogle argues the latter charge was filed ‘in error,’ demanding that he be released in recompense. He noted that Nassar never faced a similar charge, despite “clearly violating young women during his ‘medical’ works.”
Excerpts of the filing available online suggest Fogle believes himself innocent of the charge, claiming that he didn’t travel with the specific intent of molesting minors.
“In contrast,” argues Fogle, he’d traveled “as a Media Spokesperson for Subway, yet he was allowed in error to be charged with ‘travel for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct.”
The motion, summarized by People, notes that Fogle “fails to see the unlawfulness of his media-based travel when Dr. Larry Nassar” was “clearly engaged in unlawful conducts with young women” while attending to young gymnasts.
He blames prosecutors for “diverging applications of the law,” arguing that if Nassar wasn’t charged with ‘traveling,’ neither should he, Fogle, have been convicted.
But the last-ditch attempt to get out of hard time neglects the difference between both high-profile cases.
Nassar did travel in the course of his duty, but the brunt of his crimes were committed in medical offices — either located at training sites, on Michigan State campus, or his own home. He incorporated abuse into his physician practice, making misconduct a part of his medical technique.
Fogle, conversely, specifically and clearly diverged from his limited duties as a Subway representative in seeking out sex with minors. In New York City and other metropolitan areas, the media personality sought out underage prostitutes, renting properties and hotel rooms to engage in illicit intercourse.
No matter what the case may be, Fogle seems to have forgotten that prosecutors are humans too, endowed with the ability to think independently.
Alleging “diverging applications of the law” suggests that Fogle thinks cases bearing some similarities must be charged identically for the overlap. However, prosecuting attorneys are typically allowed some leeway in deciding which charges are most appropriate for a case and likely to stick through prolonged trial and defense.
But no matter what rebuttal the courts may offer, Fogle will do what he’s always done best – blame the outside world for his actions.
Writing that his crimes were committed because of “alcohol and sex addictions,” Fogle says prison doctors have prescribed him medication which successfully curbed his “overactive libido.”
On top of that, he claims he should not have been incarcerated in the first place, calling his “high price” legal counsel incompetent.
Due to addictions overcome and possibly incompetent counsel, Fogle hopes the courts might amend what he considers a “grave error of the law.”
Sources
Jared Fogle compares case to Larry Nassar’s crimes as argument for early prison release
Jared Fogle Compares Himself to Larry Nassar in Motion Seeking Prison Release
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