Back in November, Jared Fogle was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography and soliciting sex from a minor.
The judge in the case – clearly disgusted by the details of the investigation – threw out Fogle’s plea deal and gave the former Subway spokesman a heftier sentence than he was expecting.
Now, lawyers for Fogle are appealing the judge’s decision, claiming that their client is being punished for sexual fantasies that he never acted on.
Though there’s no question that Fogle possessed child porn and paid teens for sex (he openly admitted as much in secretly recorded phone conversations), his attorneys may succeed in securing a shorter sentence as a result of the phrasing the judge used at his sentencing.
“This defendant is obsessed with child pornography and having sex with minors,” the judge has been quoted as saying. “He fantasized about it in telephone conversations.”
By admitting that Jared’s fantasies factored into her decision, the judge left herself open to rebuke.
“We are loath to give the government the power to punish us for our thoughts and not our actions,” Fogle’s attorneys wrote in recently filed documents.
The appeals court has yet to decide if Fogle will receive a new trial, but even if he goes to court again and wins, the disgraced 38-year-old will be sentenced to at least 12 years behind bars.
