Jared Fogle’s ex-wife, Kathleen McLaughlin, filed a lawsuit against Subway on Monday, claiming the sandwich chain knew its pitchman now serving 16 years in federal prison was a kiddie predator.
According to court documents, McLaughlin said Subway executives were informed on at least three occasions that Fogle had a sexual interest in children but never acted on that knowledge, reported USA Today.
“I filed this lawsuit because I have questions,” McLaughlin told reporters on Monday.
McLaughlin's lawsuit said Subway, ignoring what it knew about Fogle, still promoted him as a family man and continued to send him on different promotional assignments, including speaking to children as part of educational initiatives.
Subway’s senior vice president of marketing apparently received information about Fogle’s interest in children as early as 2004, said USA Today in reporting on the suit. This came after Fogle reportedly asked a young girl to participate in a sex act with him during a Subway event in Las Vegas.
Following that incident, Subway had a public relations manager approach Fogle about the matter, but after talking with him the company didn’t reach out to the girl or act on the allegations any further, said USA Today.
“Driven by sales rather than the safety of kids, Subway sent its then senior public relations manager to ask Jared and the franchise owner, rather than the victim, about the incident,” the suit stated.
“Finding out that Subway did not act upon at least one complaint while continuing to utilize Jared as their spokesperson and facilitate his visits to those hundreds of schools is beyond comprehension,” McLaughlin told reporters, according to The Huffington Post.
McLaughlin claimed she had no knowledge of Fogle’s sexual interest in children and that she never would have married him if she had known.
McLaughlin and Fogle were married in 2010 and they have two children, according to USA Today.
“I have a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old who ask me about jail and where their father is,” she said, per NBC News. “I will not lie to my kids and as they get older they will ask more questions and I want to answer them.”
NBC News reached out to Subway about the allegations, but it declined to comment on the pending suit.
McLaughlin had a personal message for Fogle’s victims on Monday.
“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.”
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