NEW YORK: Two guards who were on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a high-security jail were charged Tuesday with falsifying records after they apparently failed to check on him.
Epstein, 66, was found dead in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10 as he awaited trial on allegations that he trafficked girls as young as 14 for sex.
US justice officials are investigating how the wealthy financier, one of America’s most high-profile on-remand detainees, was able to kill himself when he was supposed to be under close watch.
New York prosecutors charged Tova Noel, 31, and Michael Thomas, 41, Tuesday with making false records to defraud the United States by impairing the lawful function of a federal prison.
The indictment — unsealed in a Manhattan court — accused the defendants of failing to carry out mandated prisoner checks and then signing false records to cover their tracks.
“As alleged, the defendants had a duty to ensure the safety and security of federal inmates in their care at the Metropolitan Correctional Center,” said US attorney Geoffrey Berman.
“Instead, they repeatedly failed to conduct mandated checks on inmates, and lied on official forms to hide their dereliction,” he added.
Epstein was a multi-millionaire hedge fund manager who hobnobbed with countless celebrities over the years, including Britain’s Prince Andrew and US President Donald Trump.
Epstein was charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and another of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.
He denied the charges but faced up to 45 years in jail if found guilty.
After his death dozens of women came forward to say they had been abused by him and several have sued his estate for damages.
The prison guards’ indictments were announced a day after another woman accused Epstein of sexually abusing her when she was 15.
The woman, who is using the name Jane Doe 15, told a news conference in Los Angeles the financier took her to his ranch in New Mexico and raped her there.
“Epstein took my sexual innocence in front of a wall of framed photographs of him shaking hands and smiling with celebrities and political leaders. I was only 15 years old,” she said.
“After, he wanted to talk with me about what had just been my first sexual experience and directed me to take time to myself that night to cry. He said that would be beneficial to my growth.”
Epstein’s death fueled several conspiracy theories, mostly speculating that he had been murdered to stop him from revealing compromising information about some of his wealthy acquaintances.
He was convicted in Florida in 2008 of paying young girls for massages but served just 13 months in jail under a secret plea deal struck with the then state prosecutor.
Epstein prison guards charged over falsifying records
Epstein prison guards charged over falsifying records
- Epstein was found dead in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10 a
- US justice officials are investigating how he was able to kill himself when he was supposed to be under close watch
UK government publishes files about the appointment of Epstein friend Mandelson to ambassador post
- The government has said the files will show that Mandelson misled officials about the extent of the relationship
- Starmer is facing a political storm over his decision to give him the Washington job
LONDON: The British government on Wednesday published a batch of documents related to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, as police investigate potential misconduct stemming from the ex-diplomat’s ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.
The 147-page release was published Wednesday on the government website.
Lawmakers have forced Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to disclose thousands of files about the decision to name Mandelson to the key diplomatic post at the start of US President Donald Trump’s second term, despite a past friendship with the convicted sex offender.
The government has said the files will show that Mandelson misled officials about the extent of the relationship. But Starmer is facing a political storm over his decision to give him the Washington job.
Mandelson, 72, a former Cabinet minister, ambassador and elder statesman of the governing Labour Party, was arrested Feb. 23 at his London home on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has been released without bail conditions as the police investigation continues.
He has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.
Cabinet minister Darren Jones said the “first tranche of documents” will be published Wednesday afternoon.
The documents are being published in batches after review by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee. Police have asked the government not to release files that could compromise their criminal investigation into Mandelson.
“The documents that will be published today later to Parliament will provide full transparency about the appointments process, bar one document that has been held back by the Metropolitan Police because of an ongoing criminal investigation,” Jones told broadcaster ITV.
Starmer fired Mandelson in September after an earlier release of documents showed he had maintained contact with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for sexual offenses involving a minor.
Further details about Mandelson’s ties with Epstein, revealed in a huge trove of files published by the US Department of Justice in January, drove opponents and even some members of Starmer’s Labour Party to call for the prime minister’s resignation. Starmer survived the immediate danger, but his position remains fragile, even though he never met Epstein and is not implicated in his crimes.
Starmer has apologized to Epstein’s victims and said he was sorry for “having believed Mandelson’s lies.”
The Epstein files suggest that Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to the convicted sex offender when he was the UK government’s business secretary after the 2008 financial crisis.
That includes an internal government report discussing ways the UK could raise money, including by selling off government assets. Mandelson also appears to have told Epstein he would lobby other members of the government to reduce a tax on bankers’ bonuses.
Mandelson is also facing a separate probe by the European Union’s anti-fraud office for the time he spent as the bloc’s trade representative.
