The two prison staff members who’d been guarding the unit where Jeffrey Epstein died by apparent suicide failed to check on him that night for about three hours, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing several law enforcement and prison officials with knowledge of the investigation.
Officials have cautioned to CNN that they don’t know what the staff members were doing during that time and still are trying to pin that down
Epstein, 66, was in the special housing unit of the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, in a cell by himself, when he was found dead early Saturday.
Guards are supposed to check on detainees in the special housing unit every 30 minutes, a source with knowledge of Epstein’s time at the prison previously told CNN.
Epstein had been jailed since early last month, awaiting trial on federal charges accusing him of operating a sex trafficking ring from 2002 to 2005 at his Manhattan mansion and his Palm Beach estate in which he paid girls as young as 14 for sex. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Of the two officers who would have had responsibility to monitor Epstein, one was not currently a detention guard but was temporarily reassigned to that post, according to a person briefed on the matter. The guard, a man not identified by officials, had previously been trained as a corrections officer but had moved to another position. – READ MORE