The Jared Fogle investigation is still a mystery

Subway suddenly cut ties with longtime spokesman Jared Fogle on July 7, just hours after federal and state authorities raided his Indiana home.

The raid came months after an employee of Fogle's charitable foundation was arrested on child pornography charges, and Subway said at the time it believed the raid was in relation to that case.

Fox59 and CBS also reported at the time - citing law enforcement sources - that the raid was related to a child pornography investigation.

Several weeks later, Fogle still hasn't been charged. In fact, the US attorney's office - which is now handling the case - won't even say if an investigation is or isn't underway.

"We have no updates, nothing to share with you," Tim Horty, a spokesman for the US attorney's office in the Southern District of Indiana told Business Insider. "We're not even acknowledging that there is an investigation."

FBI spokeswoman Wendy Osborne declined to comment on the case, as did Fogle's attorney, Ron Elberger. Subway did not respond to a request for comment.

When asked whether the investigation is over and if Fogle is facing any charges, Elberger responded via email, writing only: "No comment."

In the immediate aftermath of the raid, Elberger was more forthcoming with information.

"Jared has been cooperating, and continues to cooperate, with law enforcement in their investigation of unspecified charges, and looks forward to its conclusion," Elberger said at the time. "He has not been detained, arrested or charged with any crime or offense."

So why is there still so little information on the case three weeks after the raid?

Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney Michael Malloy says authorities are likely still combing through Fogle's computers and other documents to find any potential evidence.

"It's not unusual at all to have two to three months go by after a search warrant is executed, before any charges are made," Malloy told Business Insider.

Authorities typically confiscate a suspect's computers and extract all the data on them, including anything that has been deleted. That process can take a long time, Malloy said.

If any illicit material is found, authorities must determine whether it was actually downloaded and saved or whether it showed up on the computer accidentally. Then, they have to figure out how long the material has been on the computer and how long the suspect watched it, if it's a video.

Investigators would also have to identify whether the subjects in the illicit material are actually underage, which is typically done by analyzing them anatomically.

Finally, authorities must find out whether the suspect downloaded, viewed, possessed, or distributed the material. Distribution of child pornography carries the most serious punishment.

That entire process can take two to three months for a state investigation and even longer for a federal investigation, since federal investigations tend to be broader and focus on more than one suspect, Malloy said.

To be clear, we still don't know if there is an investigation, or if the FBI is looking for such material. This is a hypothetical about what happens in such cases.

After cutting ties with Fogle, Subway released a statement saying it was "shocked" by news of the raid and believed it was related to an investigation of the former employee of the Jared Foundation, which Fogle started to help kids improve their eating and exercise habits.

The statement was in reference to Russell Taylor, the Jared Foundation's former director, who was arrested two months ago on federal child-pornography charges.

The FBI raided Taylor's home on April 29 and found hundreds of videos of child pornography, some of which were recorded in his home, according to court documents reviewed by Business Insider.

The Jared Foundation fired Taylor following the raid.