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Jared Fogle's ex-wife sues Subway, says company knew about abuse

Kathleen McLaughlin says the company was aware of Fogle's interest in exploiting children but failed to try to stop it.

By Ed Adamczyk
Kathleen McLaughlin, ex-wife of former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, here in 2013, sued Subway Monday, alleging the company was aware of Fogle's interest in child sexual exploitation. Fogle is currently in prison on child pornography convictions. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
Kathleen McLaughlin, ex-wife of former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, here in 2013, sued Subway Monday, alleging the company was aware of Fogle's interest in child sexual exploitation. Fogle is currently in prison on child pornography convictions. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

NOBLESVILLE , Ind., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The ex-wife of former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle has sued the company, alleging it was aware of his sexual interest in children.

Kathleen McLaughlin's attorneys filed a lawsuit against Subway in Hamilton County, Indiana, Superior Court on Monday, seeking unspecified damages, although McLaughlin said Monday her main focus is learning what and when Subway knew about Fogle's child exploitation. Fogle is serving a 15-year term in a Littleton, Colo., prison after he pleaded guilty in November 2015 to possession or distribution of child pornography, and traveling across state lines to engage in sex with a minor.

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Fogle was a spokesman in Subway advertising from 2000 to 2015.

The lawsuit says "Subway's ambition for sales and growth" prevented the company from investigating Fogle. It says that as early as 2004, a Subway marketing executive learned Fogle approached a young girl, seeking sex, at a Subway event in Las Vegas. Instead of asking Fogle about the incident, nothing was done.

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The suit also alleges a Subway franchise owner told former CEO Jeff Moody in 2008 about a conversation she had with Fogle in which he admitted he enjoyed sex with minors, and in 2011 a Florida journalist used Subway's website to report Fogle's admitted interest in children. In each case, the suit alleges, a Subway public relations official spoke with Fogle but no action was taken. The lawsuit said Subway either lacked the proper protocols to deal with the issue, or failed to follow those protocols.

McLaughlin married Fogle in 2010. They have two children, ages 3 and 5.

"To the victims of my ex-husband, you are never far from my thoughts and prayers. I can only imagine what you have been going through. A mother's most basic instinct is to protect her children, and this is one of the most horrific of crimes," McLaughlin said Monday.

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