Subway pitchman’s ex-wife seeks damages for failure to report his 'pedophile behavior'
The ex-wife of convicted Subway pitchman Jared Fogle filed a lawsuit Monday contending she would never had married him if the company had reported his sexual interest in minors.
The suit filed by Kathleen McLaughlin alleges that Subway’s parent company was warned about Fogle’s behavior at least three times but did not report it, the Indianapolis Star reports.
“Subway was alerted on multiple occasions about Jared’s immoral and criminal pedophile behavior,” the suit says. “Subway failed every test of responsible corporate behavior.”
The suit also says Subway promoted Fogle as a family man in a 2015 ad campaign that depicted the likeness of McLaughlin and the couple’s two children through animations, without obtaining proper consent.
Fogle was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison last year after pleading guilty to traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and distribution and receipt of child pornography.
McLaughlin’s suit seeks damages for invasion of privacy and misappropriation of likeness, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and violation of right of publicity.
McLaughlin says Fogle was a “cash cow” for Subway, enabling the sandwich chain to triple its sales to $11.5 billion while Fogle served as spokesman. The suit alleges Subway was warned about Fogle these three times:
• A Subway official was allegedly informed in 2004 that Fogle had approached a young girl for a sex act at Las Vegas promotional event for a franchise. Subway sent its senior public relations manager to ask Fogle and the franchise owner about the allegation, rather than ask the victim, the suit says.
• In 2008 a Subway franchisee allegedly alerted Subway’s then-CEO that Fogle had made disturbing comments that he had had sex with minors as young as 9 and suggested that the franchisee prostitute herself. The CEO responded that Fogle had met someone and “we think she will keep him grounded,” according to the suit. The CEO was referring to McLaughlin. The franchisee complained to two other Subway executives, who dispatched the senior public relations manager to ask Fogle about the complaint, the suit says.
• In 2011 a Florida journalist allegedly complained on Subway’s website that she had serious concerns about Fogle being around children. The journalist helped the FBI record conversations with Fogle.
McLaughlin married Fogle in 2010. She told reporters at a press conference that she filed the suit because she wanted answers about what Subway knew and when it knew it, according to the Indianapolis Star account.
Subway has said it does not comment on pending litigation.
