[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
We’re sure you haven’t heard the name Jared Fogle in a long time, but two women who were victims of the sex offender can’t forget so easily…
The Subway spokesperson was found guilty of child pornography possession and traveling across state lines to have sex with a minor in 2015. He pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge and paying for sex with an underage girl in August of that same year. Prosecutors claimed he had around 400 CSAM videos in his possession and solicited escorts to “provide him with access to minors as young as 14 to 15 years.” He was ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution to his victims and is now serving 15 years behind bars at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Englewood, Colorado.
Now two of his victims, Hannah Parrett and Christian Showalter, are now speaking out about their experience with the man they call a “monster.” The sisters are stepdaughters of Russell Taylor, the executive director of Fogle’s charity. Taylor was also convicted of sex crimes involving the girls, right alongside Fogle. In a new interview with People Friday, ahead of the release of a new Investigation Discovery doc exploring the case, Showalter said about Subway Jared:
“He’s a monster. He’s just a predator.”
The former TV personality grew popular after he claimed to lose a dramatic amount of weight by following a “Subway diet” and earned $15 million for appearing in the restaurants ads. He went on to shock the world when law enforcement made the harrowing discovery of child porn on his computer during a raid.
Related: Josh Duggar Got NO Birthday Messages Or Visitors In Prison!
The docuseries, titled Jared From Subway: Catching A Monster, reveals how the sisters met Fogle through their stepdad; their mom, Angela Baldwin, was still married to Taylor at the time. Both Hannah and Christian were in their early teens when they first met Jared, telling the outlet:
“Jared traveled a lot, obviously for Subway, and he was always on a flight. We’ve obviously had face-to-face interaction, but it was more about FaceTime and iMessage. But meeting him was very nonchalant, kind of. Jared was more so of a standby guy. He was more of a watcher. He wasn’t very talkative. Not that he didn’t speak, but he was very quiet and casual, and Russell was really the complete opposite.”
So creepy… Hannah, now 21 years old, recalled the first time Fogle was ever inappropriate with them:
“I think it was the first time that Jared had ever mentioned anything sexual, Russell had sent a photo of a friend of mine and [me] to Jared. And of course, Jared was asking who she was and how I knew her and things like that. And then, he started to make sexual comments about her body and what she looked like. Russell showed these to me and wanted me to express those things to her.”
Sadly, things just snowballed from there — she even added he used to “rate” the young girls by sexual attractiveness:
“We would read the things that [Fogle] would say about us and our friends, as far as commenting sexually on our bodies and our looks. And [he] would rate us on a scale of who he would want to have sex with more. I think that was probably the most unsettling thing that I’ve seen, because my friend was on top of that list.”
Showalter noted some of these little girls were prepubescent:
“Some of them [had] not even hit puberty yet. And to him, he’s ranking them on whether he wants to have sex with them or not.”
Just disgusting! These poor children…
Due to being so young when this all happened, both women barely understood what was going on at first, with Christian recalling:
“I think that we used to be really innocent young girls, and then he started taking little steps at a time talking about sexual behavior, talking about our boyfriends, talking about curiosity with ourselves sexually. I think he started so small and he kept taking off layer by layer by layer. And eventually, that was just our reality.”
She added the grooming was “constant” for them:
“He would very much so want us to watch porn. He would want us to talk about masturbation or sex with our partners at the time or our friends, getting curious about our sexuality. It was a constant thing. He was grooming, 100 percent.”
Stomach-churning. Just awful.
Related: Maryland Mayor Arrested On 56 Child Porn Charges
Sadly, the then-teens’ parents were in on it. They were convicted of hiding cameras around the home and providing Fogle with child pornography. Christian explained:
“He and our mother were setting up these video cameras and sending text messages back and forth. For example, it would be as simple as, ‘Let’s go watch them while they’re in the shower. They’re getting out now.’”
To which Hannah added they’d constantly talk about wanting to have sex with them. Christian agreed, reiterating how much of their young lives involved pedophilia:
“We had no idea this was happening. But it was constantly going on, and that was traumatizing to have obviously figured that out.”
So, so sad.
Taylor and Baldwin were convicted and sentenced to 27 and 33 years in prison respectively, and both sisters do believe justice has been served. According to Christian, they’re just trying to move on with their lives now:
“We’re doing really great, we love our life, and I think we are very motivated to keep going and telling our story for not only each other and our family, but for other victims and survivors that have went through the same thing.”
It’s wonderful to hear they’re doing so much better and are continuing to heal. Christian now works in behavioral health services while her sister is a chef at a nursing home. Even with differing careers, they both share the same passion about helping others by speaking out. Hannah told the outlet:
“I really enjoy being able to share my story and know that it’s going to help somebody else, but not only that, help me in the process.”
And Showalter agreed, saying these things need to be talked about more so everyone can see the warning signs before children get taken advantage of:
“The main reason we wanted to do the documentary is to not only have the voice, but give other people a voice and bring complete awareness of what happened to us and that it happens all around the world. It could be your neighbor. It could be your friend. We really, really want other family members, other victims and survivors to help us bring more awareness to this topic. And it needs to be talked about. It doesn’t need to be hushed because some people are embarrassed about it. It’s not your fault, and the people who should be embarrassed are the perpetrators. They should be the ones that are embarrassed. Us as victims and survivors, we should stand together. I think that was our main message, and that is still our message.”
You can watch the trailer for Jared From Subway (below):
The docuseries premieres both on ID and Discovery+ Monday. Will U be watching, Perezcious readers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments (below).
[Image via YouTube/Investigation Discovery/Kyle Blair/WENN.com]
