Jared Fogle says he 'only made a couple of mistakes' in a letter from prison

An Indianapolis woman says Jared Fogle wrote her a letter from prison saying the media has made him seem like a "monster," and that he only made a "couple of mistakes."

"I made a couple of mistakes but nothing like the media reports have said," reads the letter addressed to Brena Firkins, Fox59 reports. "They are making me into some sort of monster which is absolutely not true."

The former Subway spokesman pleaded guilty last year to having sex with minors and distributing and receiving child pornography.

He was sentenced in December to nearly 16 years in prison.

Firkins told Fox59 that she received the letter after reaching out to Fogle in prison because she "felt bad for him."

"He wrote me back and sent this letter that was kind of horrifying," Firkins told Fox59.

Firkins claims she previously had a sexual relationship with Fogle that lasted about a month.

The letter is postmarked March 25 from the Englewood federal correctional institution in Littleton, Colorado, where Fogle is serving his sentence. The envelope is marked with Fogle's prison identification number, 12919-028, according to Fox59.

Fogle's lawyer, Ron Elberger, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

"It's been a very hard nine months for me," the letter reads. He asks her to send pictures of herself and says: "Are you dating anyone? I need you in my life big time. I've thought a lot about you over the years but had no way to contact you."

He also says he's appealing his sentence. His lawyers have filed an appeal for a shorter sentence, arguing that the sentencing judge abused her authority by going beyond the maximum 12.5-year term that prosecutors sought as part of a plea deal.

"I'm currently appealing my prison sentence and am hoping for the best with it," the letter reads. "Bottom line, my director of my foundation and friend did some bad stuff and tried to throw me under the bus with him."

Russell Taylor was the director of Fogle's charitable foundation, called the Jared Foundation. Taylor was sentenced to 27 years in prison in December after pleading guilty producing and distributing child pornography.

The government has challenged Fogle's appeal for a lighter sentence by releasing text messages in which he solicited sex with children.

Government lawyers shared the text messages to show that Fogle "went to great lengths" to satisfy his "twin obsessions" with "child pornography" and "having sex with minors," according to a document filed Monday to the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.

"I can pay you a finder's fee," one text to an adult escort read, according to the filing. "I'll pay you big for a 14- or 15-year-old."

Another text read, "Did you find me some young girls or boys?" He said he wanted them to be able to prove their age, and, "If they can and you get me 16 or below, I'll give you 400 at least."

When asked why he wanted young children, he replied: "Cause it's what I crave!"

Fogle was sentenced in December to nearly 16 years in prison for having sex with minors and distributing and receiving child pornography.

The government says the court wasn't punishing Fogle for his fantasies, but for the lengths he went to in order to make them a reality by soliciting sex with minors.

"Repeated text messages and emails showed Fogle had a pattern: he found adult escorts through the Internet, developed relationships with them, and offered them finder's fees to provide him with access to minors for commercial sex," the filing reads.

He also bought and offered plane tickets for underage minors and reserved and paid for hotel rooms, according to the filing.

"The court thoroughly and appropriately explored the unusual nature and circumstances of Fogle's offenses and his history and characteristics," the filing reads. "In doing so, the court made no procedural error, factual or otherwise."