Russell Taylor sentencing: 27 years for Jared Fogle accomplice

Russell Taylor begged the judge Thursday not to let him "rot in a landfill of lost souls." After his tearful plea, federal Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sentenced the child pornographer to 27 years in prison — a sentence that will lock him up until he is at least 65 years old.

Taylor is the criminal accomplice of former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle, who was sentenced last month to more than 15 years in prison for his role in the child pornography case that drew international attention.

For much of Thursday's hearing, Taylor stood facing Pratt, his hair unkempt and answering her questions with "Yes, ma'am" and "No, ma'am." He wore a dark green prison jumpsuit. Shackles restrained his hands and feet.

From behind, the chains around Taylor's waist were visible to his mother, father, stepfather and other family members watching from the audience.

The sentence was eight years less than what prosecutors sought for 12 counts of producing child pornography and one count of distributing it. But it was more than the 15 to 23 years that Taylor's attorneys requested.

Pratt rejected the defense's argument that Taylor was a pawn of Fogle's, but she gave him some credit, saying his cooperation with authorities means "Jared Fogle is off the streets."

The hearing was expected to be the end of a high-profile, sordid saga that began with Taylor's arrest in April. Taylor secretly recorded children who were nude or in sexually explicit acts and shared those images with Fogle. Thursday's testimony, however, raised additional questions.

Chief among them was the extent to which Taylor's wife was involved and whether two other unnamed associates of Taylor and Fogle also might have been involved. One of those associates was affiliated with Fogle's charitable foundation, which Taylor headed. Those allegations surfaced Thursday during questioning of a prosecution witness by Taylor's attorney.

The witness, IMPD detective Darin Odier, declined to discuss that allegation further, citing "an ongoing investigation." Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve DeBrota, however, confirmed after the hearing that “investigations are ongoing on people beyond Russell Taylor and Jared Fogle.” He declined further comment.

Taylor previously said his wife, who was not in the courtroom, placed some of the hidden cameras and reviewed video. But for the first time, testimony Thursday revealed there's video evidence showing her helping.

"Taylor and his wife are both seen positioning a camera in a way to see this child naked in the bathtub," the judge said, referring to a video of a niece younger than 10.

DeBrota had no issues with the judge's sentence, saying her rationale was “grounded solidly in (Taylor's) cooperation.”

“At the end of the day," DeBrota said, "part of our point here is we wanted to rescue as many children as possible and hold people accountable for what happened.”

During the hearing, DeBrota said 12 victims — including relatives of Taylor — are a lot in a child porn production case. He also noted that Taylor spent four years in pursuit of nude images of children in his home. Taylor, DeBrota said, had to be "patient, calculating, devious and motivated."

Brad Banks, Taylor's lead attorney, acknowledged that Taylor deserved to spend more time in prison than Fogle. He called Pratt's determination an "extremely fair" sentence.

Knowing that Pratt gave Fogle a longer sentence than prosecutors requested, Banks said, "We had that concern, too." But the judge said Taylor didn't deserve a sentence twice as long as Fogle's.

Family members waved to Taylor as he was led out of the court. His mother looked on intently, gently patting her chest with one hand. Those family members declined comment after the hearing.

The three-hour, 40-minute hearing was more contentious than Fogle's sentencing hearing, but it was similar in that the defendant made a tearful plea.

Taylor said that for five years "I took my eyes off God" and said his "return to the Lord led to his guilty plea." His stepfather, a Baptist preacher, looked on, often covering his face with his hand or closing his eyes.

"I've been falling asleep in a puddle of tears every night ... crying out to God," Taylor said.

"I'm begging for mercy for a lenient sentence," Taylor added, saying he wanted to be back with his family "while I'm of age and health to be of some service to them." He also said he has been "internationally disgraced" and wants to use his notoriety to advocate against child pornography.

“Please do not leave me to rot in a landfill of lost souls,” he pleaded tearfully.

Much of Taylor's defense focused on presenting him as a victim of an abusive childhood that led to psychological problems and in depicting Fogle as a domineering friend and boss. Taylor said he spent much of his life feeling alienated, "a guy that's been lonely for a long time." But in Fogle, Taylor said, "I met somebody who was famous and rich and he wanted to be my friend."

Taylor said his desire to maintain that friendship with Fogle — which also provided him a luxurious lifestyle — caused him to "make mistakes" that harmed victims and shamed his family.

A psychologist for the defense said a seven-hour session with Taylor revealed the childhood abuse, including sexual assaults by a neighbor boy and that boy's father. She also said he was beaten by his mother, who sat in the second row of the audience as those details were recounted.

There was also testimony about Taylor's father, who was in the courtroom. The psychologist described the father picking up women at bars and bringing them home, where the women sexually assaulted Taylor, who was around 16 at the time.

DeBrota, however, attempted to discredit the psychologist's work, saying it relied almost exclusively on Taylor's word and was "unworthy of this court."

His cross-examination of the psychologist became so intense that Pratt interrupted.

"Let's slow down, take a deep breath," she said.

The psychologist claimed that Taylor "remains loyal to Mr. Fogle as somebody who provided for him, protected him." DeBrota later countered by saying Taylor wasn't so loyal in reality, and that helping prosecutors amounted to a "stabbing in the heart of Jared Fogle."

At Fogle's sentencing, Pratt said there was nothing in Fogle's background to explain his criminal acts. Pratt acknowledged that wasn't the case with Taylor but also said it was no excuse.

The judge said Taylor and Fogle betrayed children they should have been protecting.

"The awful reality," she said, "is these defendants knew right from wrong."

Call Star reporter Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.

Call Star reporter Mark Alesia at (317) 444-6311. Follow him on Twitter: @markalesia.

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