× Chicago appeals court to hear ex-Subway pitchman Jared Fogle’s appeal 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS — A federal appeals court in Chicago has set a May hearing for former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle’s appeal of his more than 15-year sentence in a child sex abuse and pornography case. 
 
 Fogle’s attorneys and federal prosecutors will go before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals May 20 to present their arguments for and against the Indiana man’s bid for a shorter sentence. 
 
 Fogle was sentenced in November to 188 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count each of distributing and receiving child pornography and traveling out of state to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. 
 
 His attorneys say a federal judge abused her authority by giving Fogle a sentence three years longer than the maximum prosecutors had sought. 
 
 Prosecutors say the judge acted properly. ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A woman who says Jared Fogle wrote her from prison is talking to FOX59. Brena Firkins says she had a very personal relationship with the ex-Subway pitchman years ago and feels sorry for him as he sits behind bars, so she reached out. 
 
 A short one-page letter gives us a small glimpse into life behind bars for Fogle and what he said has been unfair treatment by the media and others. 
 
 “It’s been a very hard nine months for me,” Firkins read from a handwritten letter postmarked March 25, from the Englewood federal correctional institution in Littleton, Colorado, where Jared Fogle is currently serving his prison sentence on child porn and child sex charges. 
 
 The envelope is marked with Fogle’s prison identification number, 12919-028. 
 
 Firkins says she first reached out to Fogle. 
 
 “I kind of felt bad for him, and I wrote him to see how he was doing. And he wrote me back and sent this letter that was kind of horrifying,” said Firkins. 
 
 She shared the letter with FOX59. 
 
 One part reads, “I made a couple of mistakes but nothing like the media reports have said. They are making me into some sort of monster which is absolutely not true.” 
 
 It goes on to say, “I’m currently appealing my prison sentence and am hoping for the best with it. Bottom line, my director of my foundation and friend did some bad stuff and tried to throw me under the bus with him.” 
 
 A federal judge sentenced Fogle in November to 15-and-a-half years behind bars, three years longer than what prosecutors asked for. 
 
 Fogle’s former foundation director and friend Russell Taylor was sentenced to 27 years in prison in December, pleading guilty to 12 counts of producing child pornography and a count of distributing child pornography. 
 
 Firkins says she met Fogle on a dating site around eight years ago and admits to having a sexual relationship for about a month before losing contact. 
 
 “We just had a good time,” said Firkins, “He was, like, real generous. He took me shopping a lot. He paid for everything. He paid for my rent. He would give me gift cards.” 
 
 Fogle asks Firkins to send more pictures writing, “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.” 
 
 Fogle got treatment before he was sentenced and attended Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings twice a week in Indianapolis. In fact, the Englewood prison where Jared is housed is one of a handful in the country that offers specialized sex offender treatment programs. 
 
 Indianapolis sex therapist Carol Juergensen Sheets says the letter shows Jared still has a long road to go. 
 
 “He hasn’t figured out what he needs to do to get healthy,” said Sheets.“From that letter, he’s minimizing, and sex addicts are people that have sexual compulsivity tend to minimize, justify, and defend themselves, and that’s what I see in the letter. He’s obviously a man who hasn’t had enough recovery yet to be 100 percent responsible for his behavior.” 
 
 Jared said he had access to email and encouraged Firkins to give him her email address. He asked her to write him back as soon as she got the letter. Firkins says she and Fogle exchanged emails, but now they are done talking. 
 
 “I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so I didn’t say too much. He’s actually probably mad at me now because of this,” said Firkins. 
 
 Fogle’s attorney Ron Elberger said he had no comment about the letter. 
 
 Elberger maintains in federal filings the judge’s harsh sentence was unfair for a variety of reasons, including that Jared was sentenced “for fantasies.” Prosecutors in filings disagree, arguing in the cases of at least two underage girls, those fantasies did become reality. 
 
 Oral arguments for Fogle’s appeal are scheduled for next month in Chicago. ||||| Jared Fogle just can't seem to stay out of the news. Since November, when the former Subway spokesman was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison for possessing child pornography and having sex with a minor, the media has reported on a brawl he had in prison and his stress eating. Now he's back in the headlines because of a seriously disturbing letter he sent to a former friend. 
 
 Brena Firkins shared the letter with Fox59, and says she first contacted Fogle because they had a sexual relationship a few years—but she hadn't been in contact since. 
 
 "I kind of felt bad for him, and I wrote him to see how he was doing," Firkins told Fox59. "And he wrote me back and sent this letter that was kind of horrifying," 
 
 In reply, Fogle sent her a one-page letter that gives a peek into his life behind bars, and includes some upsetting revelations about how he currently views his situation. 
 
 In the letter, which is postmarked March 25 (and includes Fogle's prisoner number), he states: "It's been a very hard nine months for me ... I made a couple of mistakes but nothing like the media reports have said. They are making me into some sort of monster which is absolutely not true." 
 
 The letter continues with: "I'm currently appealing my prison sentence and am hoping for the best with it. Bottom line, my director of my foundation and friend did some bad stuff and tried to throw me under the bus with him." 
 
 The most upsetting part? Fogle asks Firkins for her email address, asks for pictures and also writes: "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." 
 
 On the surface, maybe this seems harmless. But considering the charges Fogle is serving time for, these requests take on a more troublesome tone. Fox59 spoke to Indianapolis sex therapist Carol Juergensen Sheets, who says the letter shows Fogle is still in need of treatment. Prior to his sentence, Fogle had received treatment for sex addiction. 
 
 "He hasn't figured out what he needs to do to get healthy," Fox59 quotes Sheets as saying."From that letter, he's minimizing, and sex addicts are people that have sexual compulsivity tend to minimize, justify, and defend themselves, and that's what I see in the letter. He's obviously a man who hasn't had enough recovery yet to be 100 percent responsible for his behavior." 
 
 Fogle's attorney told Fox59 he had no comment about the letter. 
 
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– So, how's it going for former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle? "It's been a very hard nine months for me," he allegedly wrote in a March 25 letter sent from the Colorado prison where he's serving more than 15 years for child porn and having illicit sexual conduct with a child. Letter recipient Brena Firkins tells Fox 59 that she met Fogle about eight years ago on a dating site and that the two had a sexual relationship for about a month. She says she wrote to him first because she "kind of felt bad for him," but she describes what she got back as "kind of horrifying." In the handwritten, one-page letter, sent in an envelope bearing Fogle's prison ID number, the former sandwich company spokesman admits to making "a couple of mistakes but nothing like the media reports have said." "Bottom line," Fogle continues, "my director of my foundation and friend did some bad stuff and tried to throw me under the bus with him." Fogle also asks for more photos, which a post at the Delish blog finds "troublesome" given his history with sex addiction. (Written in the letter's margin: "You're so hot—just like I remember.") Firkins says she and Fogle went on to exchange some emails ("I didn't want to hurt his feelings"), but that's done now. Fogle's attorney had no comment on the letter. Fogle, who claims he was unjustly punished for his thoughts, is trying to get a shorter sentence. He has a hearing scheduled for May 20 at a federal appeals court in Chicago, per WGN. (Fogle reportedly was attacked in the prison yard.)