The sister victims of depraved Subway pedophile Jared Fogle have laid bare the trauma of being abused by their own ‘monster’ step-father – who secretly hid cameras around their home when they were teens to capture inappropriate footage of them to give to Jared.
Russell Taylor was convicted of 24 counts of producing child sexual abuse material and sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2022 – after it was revealed that he had helped Jared obtain child pornography by setting up hidden recording devices throughout his step-daughters, Christian Showalter and Hannah Parrett’s bedrooms and in the bathroom of their childhood home.
Now, Christian, 24, and Hannah, 21, have detailed their horrifying story as part of the upcoming Discovery+ docuseries, called Jared From Subway: Catching a Monster, which is set to premiere on Monday.
Jared, now 45, originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, was hired as the sandwich chain’s spokesperson in 2000, after he credited eating its food with helping him to lose more than 200 pounds two years earlier.
The sister victims of Subway pedophile Jared Fogle spoke out about being abused by their own ‘step-father – who secretly hid cameras around their home when they were teens
Their-step dad Russell Taylor was convicted of 24 counts of producing child sexual abuse material and sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2022
It was revealed that he had helped Jared obtain child pornography by setting up hidden recording devices throughout his step-daughters bedrooms and in their bathroom
Now, Christian Showalter (left), 24, and Hannah Parrett (right), 21, have detailed their horrifying story as part of the upcoming Discovery+ docuseries
His stunning transformation quickly captured the nation – and he soon became known as the Subway guy, appearing in more than 300 of the eatery’s commercials, getting interviewed on late night TV shows, and even launching his own foundation in an attempt to battle childhood obesity.
But in 2015 – after 15 years of working with the company – Jared’s squeaky clean image as dedicated health buff and do-gooder was quickly shattered when he was found guilty of possession or distribution of child pornography and traveling across state lines to have sex with a minor – landing him 15 years in prison.
Jared’s crimes were facilitated by the head of his charity, Russell, now 51, who had over 400 pornographic videos featuring underage boys and girls on his computer when he was first arrested in 2015 – most of which, contained footage of Christian, Hannah, and their friends.
Now, Russell’s step-daughters – who were age 13 and 11 when Jared first came into their lives – are finally ready to share the harrowing details of what they went through in an attempt to help other victims.
In an exclusive sneak peak of the three-part series obtained by USA Today, Hannah recalled the moment that she started to realize that something was wrong.
She said that she had a friend, who was 15 at the time, that her step-father became particularly interested in. He insisted she had to meet Jared, and quickly set up a dinner.
Afterwards, she said Jared started sending Russell a series of inappropriate messages that he showed her and her friend.
‘Russell was very adamant about Jared meeting her,’ she recalled in the clip. ‘After the dinner, Jared would send Russell text messages.
‘He would make comments about her breasts, about her looks and having sex with our friend.
Jared, now 45, originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, was hired as the sandwich chain’s spokesperson in 2000, after he credited eating its food with helping him to lose 245 pounds
He soon became known as the Subway guy, appearing in more than 300 of the eatery’s commercials and getting interviewed on late night TV shows
But in 2015 Jared was found guilty of possession or distribution of child pornography and traveling across state lines to have sex with a minor – landing him 15 years in prison
‘She got very uncomfortable very quickly, and she kind of questioned me about it. “Why is he saying these things about me?”
‘I instantly felt awkward and uncomfortable, because it was, like, in that moment that I kind of started to realize that maybe something isn’t right here.’
In an interview with People, the women branded their step-dad – who was married to their mother, Angela Baldwin – as a ‘monster’ and a ‘predator.’
They also spoke further about some of the disgusting messages that Jared would send their step-dad, in which he would ‘comment sexually on their bodies and looks.’
‘Jared would rate us on a scale of who he would want to have sex with more,’ Hannah said.
‘I think that was probably the most unsettling thing that I’ve seen, because my friend was on top of that list.’
Christian added: ‘Some of them [had] not even hit puberty yet. And he’s ranking them on whether he wants to have sex with them or not.’
Christian explained that they were ‘really innocent young girls’ when they first met Jared, but as he continuously talked about ‘sexual behavior’ in front of them, everything changed.
‘He would very much want us to watch porn. He would want us to talk about masturbation or sex with our partners or to our friends, getting us curious about our sexuality. It was a constant thing. He was grooming, 100 per cent,’ she added.
After Russell was arrested following a months-long investigation by the FBI, the girls learned about the cameras that were placed around their home.
During their step-fathers trial, they were also shown text messages sent between him and their mother about wanting to ‘watch them in the shower.’
‘We had no idea this was happening,’ Christian told People. ‘But it was constantly going on, and that was traumatizing to have obviously figured that out.’
Jared’s crimes were facilitated by the head of his charity, Russell, now 51, who had over 400 pornographic videos featuring underage boys and girls on his computer when he was arrested
Now, Russell’s step-daughters – who were age 13 and 11 when Jared first came into their lives – are finally ready to share the harrowing details of what they went through. Christian is seen
Angela was convicted of two counts of production of child sexual abuse material, one count of conspiracy to produce child sexual abuse material, and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material and sentenced to 33 years in prison for her involvement.
While speaking to Yahoo, the sisters explained that they felt it was important to share their story with the world in an attempt to inspire others who may have gone through something similar.
‘I think the main reason that we participated in this documentary was to, not only have a voice, but maybe be the voice for other people who don’t yet have that,’ Christian said.
After Russell was arrested following a months-long investigation by the FBI, the girls learned about the cameras that were placed around their home. During their step-fathers trial, they were also shown text messages sent between him and their mother, Angela Baldwin (seen) about wanting to ‘watch them in the shower’
‘And to remind them that, you do have it. You just haven’t gotten in touch with that inner voice that you really need.’
She added that ‘told not to speak their truth’ for ‘so many years,’ that as soon as they heard about the documentary they ‘knew they had to be a part of it.’
‘We owed it to our inner – we are survivors – but our inner victims. We owed it to those girls that lived through that to pursue it and speak what happened to them,’ she explained.
Hannah added that it took a long time for them to finally get to a place where they were ready to speak about it publicly – but they are now at peace with what happened.
‘For a long time there, it brought up a lot of negative feelings every time [I tried to talk about it],’ she said.
‘I would see something on the internet, or even just being in a small town, you know, people talk. People know.
‘Going to school and just being out in public and hearing people talk about it openly, as if it wasn’t your life… I feel like that brought out a lot of negative feelings for me.
‘But now, though, when I see those kinds of things, it really just reminds me of how far I’ve come from that.
‘I don’t start to think about all of the negative things and all of the drama. I see those things and it just reminds me of how far I’ve come.
‘I love life now. It’s not about the things that happen. It’s about what we do with them.
While speaking to Yahoo , the sisters explained that they felt it was important to share their story with the world in an attempt to help other victims. Hannah is seen
Hannah (seen) added that it took a long time for them to finally get to a place where they were ready to speak about it publicly – but they are now at peace with what happened
The documentary will also show how Florida radio host Rochelle Herman went undercover and befriended Jared to help land him behind bars
‘Sharing my story, that helps a lot of people. And in doing that, it helps me. And I’m grateful for that.’
Christian agreed, adding that it’s no longer a ‘trigger,’ but instead, a reminder that they ‘survived’ and ‘can keep surviving it.’
Russell, Angela, and Jared are all still in prison for their crimes. Jared’s projected release date is March 24, 2029.
She wore a secret wire and recorded conversations she had with Jared in which he spoke about his depraved fantasies and admitted to some of the debauched acts that he committed
‘Jared is responsible for initiating it and for wanting the pornography and wanting to prey on, not only me and my sister, but our friends and other young girls and young boys,’ Christian stated to Yahoo.
‘Jared needs to take the responsibility for accepting the footage and getting off on the footage.
‘But Russell needs to hold the responsibility of being the actual person who set the cameras up, actually got the footage.’
Despite their dark past, Christian told People that they’re ‘doing really great’ now.
‘We are very motivated to keep going and tell our story for not only each other and our family, but for other victims and survivors that have went through the same thing,’ she said.
Hannah added, ‘I feel justice has been served and it’ll continue to be served the more we heal and the more we help people in the same situations.’
The documentary will also show how Florida radio host Rochelle Herman went undercover and befriended Jared to help land him behind bars.
She wore a secret wire and recorded conversations she had with Jared in which he spoke about his depraved fantasies and admitted to some of the debauched acts that he committed.