Federal prosecutors end criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein’s prison guards
US prosecutors ended the criminal case against the two
Manhattan prison guards tasked with guarding convicted pedophile Jeffrey
Epstein on the night of his suicide and who admitted to falsifying records.
Federal prosecutors Thursday asked a judge to dismiss
charges against Tova Noel and Michael Thomas in Manhattan following their
six-month deferred prosecution deal reached in May that kept the two jailers
out of jail. They instead each agreed to complete 100 hours of community
service and to cooperate with federal investigators’ probe into Epstein’s
death.
Noel and Thomas, who were working overtime shifts, allegedly
sat just five yards from Epstein’s cell, but shopped online and took breaks
instead of checking his cell every 30 minutes as required.
The guards admitted that they “willfully and knowingly” lied
on forms stating that they’d made the required rounds checking on inmates the
night of Epstein’s 2019 suicide.
Epstein, who had been on suicide watch for a month, was
found hanging in his cell awaiting his sex trafficking trial on Aug. 10, 2019.
The high-profile death was officially ruled a suicide by the New York City
medical examiner.
Thomas’ lawyer Montell Figgins said his client is pleased
with the dismissal and is happy to put the incident behind him.
Epstein’s longtime partner-in-crime Ghislaine Maxwell was
convicted Wednesday evening of recruiting and grooming underage girls for
Epstein for years.
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