Former Subway pitchman faces lawsuit from victim

Former Subway pitchman and Zionsville resident Jared Fogle is being sued by a girl who was one of the victims in the sex-crimes case that sent him to federal prison for more than 15 years.

The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Indianapolis names Fogle and the former head of his anti-obesity charity, Russell Taylor. Taylor's wife is also a defendant in the suit, which seeks at least $150,000 in damages each from her husband and Fogle.

Fogle paid a total of $1.4 million in restitution to 14 victims before his sentencing in November, but they can still sue him and seek additional money.

Prosecutors who charged Fogle and Taylor last year said Taylor used cameras hidden in the Indianapolis-area homes where he lived over four years to secretly film 12 minors and shared some images with Fogle.

Fogle encouraged Taylor to continue filming children, who were recorded as they were nude, changing clothes or engaged in other activities while visiting Taylor's homes, prosecutors said.

The Indiana girl who's suing was among those filmed and has suffered "significant emotional trauma," her attorney, M. Michael Stephenson, said in an email Thursday.

The suit alleges Fogle and Taylor inflicted emotional distress on the girl and invaded her privacy. It says she "suffered severe, traumatic and permanent injuries and mental anguish."

The suit accuses Taylor and his wife, Angela Taylor, of negligent supervision, and all three defendants of negligence.

"Defendants breached their duty of care and were negligent in that they were aware that minor guests of the Taylor residence were being secretly filmed," the suit states.

Fogle's attorney, Ron Elberger, said in an email Thursday that he and his client "have no idea who the plaintiff is as it's not disclosed, nor is the parent's name." He declined further comment.

Taylor's attorney did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.

Fogle, 38, was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison in November after pleading guilty to one count of distributing and receiving child pornography and one count of traveling out of state to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a child.

He admitted paying for sex at New York City hotels with two girls who were 16 or 17 years old and receiving some child pornography produced by Taylor.

Last month, Fogle asked a federal appeals court to shorten his sentence. Fogle's attorney argued that that the District Court judge in Indianapolis abused her authority by giving Fogle a sentence three years longer than the maximum term prosecutors agreed to pursue as part of his plea deal.

Besides the prison time, he paid a total of $1.4 million in restitution to 14 victims, as required by his plea agreement. Each received $100,000.

Taylor, 44, was sentenced to 27 years in prison in December after pleading guilty to 12 counts of child exploitation and one count of distributing child pornography.