New documentary reveals how Jared Fogle led a 'double life' as a 'puppet master' who committed child sex acts while pitching sandwiches for Subway

• Jared Fogle became Subway's pitchman after losing 245 pounds by mostly eating the chain's subs. 
• He filmed over 300 ads for Subway before pleading guilty to child sex acts in 2015.
• A documentary airing March 6 reveals how Fogle deceived the public for years before getting caught. 

(Editor's note. This story contains spoilers from the 3-part series "Jared from Subway: Catching a Monster," which airs March 6 on true-crime channel ID.)

Jared Fogle became a pop-culture icon after being tapped as the face of Subway in 2000.

The Indiana native was thrust into the spotlight after losing 245 pounds from mostly eating Subway sandwiches. He filmed around 300 commercials for the chain between 2000 and 2015 and spent hundreds of hours interacting with children through The Jared Foundation, an organization created to reduce childhood obesity. 

But, Fogle's popularity took a nose dive in 2015 after he was caught paying minors for sex and trading child pornography.  The former "Subway diet" spokesman is now the subject of an in-depth documentary on true-crime channel ID that shows how federal authorities had pursued Fogle for years, but never made an arrest.

A random tip in 2015 finally exposed him as a child sex predator.

Four months after investigators raided his home, Fogle was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to paying minors for sex and distributing child pornography. 

Insider screened the three-part series, which includes interviews with victims, law enforcement officials, and a whistleblower. They helped investigators uncover Fogle's sexual crimes, many of which were conducted while he was on the road hawking sandwiches for Subway. 

Fogle declined to be interviewed for the series. Subway, which is up for sale, was not interviewed for the documentary. 

Last month, the chain said it broke ties with Fogle after learning about his behavior nearly eight years ago.  

"We made multiple attempts to demonstrate to the producers that this docuseries does not reflect who we are as a company," the chain said.   

Here are the most revealing highlights: 

He led a double life – Subway rep by day, child predator by night

In each episode, the documentary highlights Fogle's rapid rise to fame. 

Images and videos show him posing with celebrities such as comedian Will Ferrell, making commercials with Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, and running in the New York City marathon wearing Subway gear. The documentary also revisits him being interviewed by countless TV anchors, including former CNN talk show host Larry King. 

But while he pitched Subway by day, he was doing something entirely different at night, according to eyewitnesses and investigators interviewed in the documentary. 

One of his accomplices was Russell Taylor, who was sentenced in 2022 to 27 years in prison for pleading guilty to 24 counts of producing child sexual abuse material. 

Taylor ran Fogle's charitable organization, The Jared Foundation. 

Assistant US Attorney Steven DeBrota described Taylor as "a personal train wreck waiting to happen," in the upcoming documentary.

Fogle and Taylor went on the road together to speak about reducing childhood obesity through healthy eating. 

But they "fed into each other's addictions" at night, DeBrota said. "They became a toxic combination."

Fogle was leading a "double life," he said.

"He would travel around the United States for Subway," DeBrota said. "But, when he's not in public when he's by himself in a hotel room, Jared Fogle spent $12,000 a year on sex workers. Then, he would ask if they had access to any underage prostituted minors."

The FBI knew about Fogle for years, but didn't make an arrest

"I wanted to warn people so people could protect their children," FBI informant Rochelle Herman said in the documentary. 

Herman, a radio journalist from Florida who first met Fogle in 2006, is a central figure in the upcoming film. She spent several years recording phone conversations with Fogle as an asset of the FBI.

She recounted times when she would vomit after talking to Fogle.

"Jared eventually started sharing with me in great detail what he would do with children," Herman said. "When Jared boasted about having sex with minors, it was beyond disturbing."

One conversation stood out – a trip Fogle said he took to Thailand. 

After listening to the details, she said: "My soul was blackened."

He described how easy it was to have sex with children in Thailand and discussed one "hot" experience with a young boy, according to the taped audio revealed in the series.

Fogle's recorded voice is heard throughout the documentary. At one point, he tells Herman: "We should try and get some child porn videos to watch together."

Though Herman initially supplied the FBI with dozens of incriminating taped phone conversations over the years, the agency told her they couldn't make an arrest until they had solid evidence, including names of actual victims. 

The FBI declined to be interviewed for the documentary.  

Authorities catch Fogle after Taylor is arrested for possession of child pornography

Taylor's stepdaughters, Hannah Parrett and Christian Showalter, are featured throughout the film. 

Taylor was constantly in communication with Fogle and traveled all over the US with him. Parrett and Showalter described Fogle as "reserved" with a "careful personality." 

But their image of their stepfather and "uncle Jared" was shattered in 2015.

That's when Chuck Cohen of the Indiana State Police received a tip of someone unlawfully engaging in bestiality. The tip led them to Taylor's home.

Police discovered hidden cameras in Parrett and Showalter's bedrooms and bathrooms. The cameras were positioned to capture children unclothed, Cohen said. Investigators then found videos of children engaged in sex acts, Cohen said.

Parrett and Showalter said investigators told them about the cameras. They and their friends were being unwittingly filmed for years. 

"Russell, he was watching us in the shower, watching us get dressed in our rooms, watching us masturbate," Showalter said. "We were being watched 24/7."

"He was the puppet master"

Fogle released a statement saying he was breaking ties with Taylor immediately after he was arrested. But he couldn't distance himself from Taylor for too long.

In the documentary, Cohen said while investigating Taylor authorities found an image of a naked child sent to Fogle. DeBrota, the assistant US Attorney, launched a probe of Fogle. 

Taylor told investigators he was producing child pornography for Fogle, DeBrota said.

"He was the puppet master, and Russell was his puppet," Parrett said of Fogle and her stepfather's relationship.

Investigators got a search warrant for Fogle's home, leading to a raid that became a media spectacle on a memorable rainy day. 

"It was the classic media circus," said reporter Tim Evans in the documentary, who was covering the story at the time for The Indianapolis Star.

Herman said she watched the raid on TV. 

She decided it was finally time to speak out. 

She contacted a local TV station and had a sit-down interview with TV journalist Max Winitz. She said Fogle told her about his sexual relationships with children.

Then Winitz asked her, "Jared Fogle to you is what?"

She replied: "Is a monster."