Prosecutors just revealed damning new evidence against ex-Subway pitchman Jared Fogle

The government is challenging Jared Fogle's appeal for a lighter sentence by releasing text messages in which he solicited children for sex.

The government is sharing 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 Seventh 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 ex-Subway pitchman's lawyers are fighting 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.

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 minors for sex.

"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."