Russell Taylor: I Was Only Doing 'Daddy' Fogle's Bidding

Russell Taylor, ex-CEO of Jared Fogle's charity, is asking for a lighter sentence ... claiming he was under the thumb of Fogle, who masterminded their deviant exploits.

The feds want Taylor to serve a 35 year sentence for child porn and exploitation charges, to which Taylor already pled guilty. But Taylor's lawyers filed new legal docs asking the judge to make it a much lighter 15 to 22 years.

In the docs, the lawyers say Taylor and Fogle were in a "psychologically abusive relationship." They say Fogle referred to himself as Taylor's "daddy" and used Taylor to carry out his sexual deviant behavior. Taylor does say he's "deeply remorseful" for the humiliation he's caused the victims.