Jared Fogle, Josh Duggar on Ashley Madison, and Baylor Rape Case with Jim Fitzgerald

Jared Fogle’s child sex crimes, the Josh Duggar Ashley Madison scandal, and news of Baylor University football player Sam Ukwuachu’s conviction for rape are the entrance point for a discussion with retired FBI agent Jim Fitzgerald on sexual assault and the law. Are universities doing enough to protect students? What about the sexual standards in high schools-as exemplified by the St. Paul Prep School rape trial? Mental illness, social double-standards, and the lines of consent are clarified in this Crime Time, with guest-host Loni Coombs.

Guest Bio

James R. Fitzgerald was the Program Manager of Threat Assessment/Forensic Linguistics at the Behavioral Analysis Unit 1 of the FBI. Fitzgerald knew little about profiling or linguistics when he joined the FBI in 1987. But, while assigned to the field office in New York City, he worked cases involving stalking or threatening letters sent to Jane Pauley, Bryant Gumbel, Don Imus, Donald Trump, and Rush Limbaugh, among others.

In 1995, Fitzgerald became a profiler at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Va. As part of Fitzgerald’s profiler training, he learned about analyzing communications. He later obtained a Master’s degree in linguistics from Georgetown University. (This was his second MS. His first was in Organizational Psychology at Villanova University.) As he has at his present company, The Academy Group, Fitzgerald created a linguistic-oriented database of threatening and/or suspicious letters, similar to one the Secret Service maintains.Fitzgerald now works for the Academy Group in Manassas, Va., which provides profiling services for private industry as well as a university instructor, author, and technical advisor for television programs (Criminal Minds) involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Loni Coombs attended Brigham Young University, graduating at the age of nineteen with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minors in philosophy and music. In 1988, after graduating from Pepperdine Law School, Loni began her legal career as a criminal trial prosecutor for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Her numerous felony trials ranged from murders to sex crimes and DUIs. From 2003 to 2005, Loni headed up the District Attorney’s Hate Crimes Unit, monitoring discrimination cases throughout the county and training law enforcement agencies.

In 2006, Ms. Coombs transitioned into the broadcast world as a legal analyst for national and local broadcast outlets, including CNN, Court TV (now TruTV), Extra, The View, Entertainment Tonight, and KTLA. Loni covered various trials including Phil Spector, OJ Simpson, Warren Jeffs, and Casey Anthony. Her daily coverage of the Phil Spector trial on KTLA.com earned her an AP award. Loni anchored newscasts (KTLA’s Prime News, KDOC’s Daybreak OC), co-hosted talk shows (KTLA’s 9 am Morning Show, Fox’s San Diego Living), and reported from the field (KTLA’s Morning News and Prime News). Loni appears as a regular contributor on “Dr. Phil”, “The Doctors”, and “Dr. Drew.”