The suspicious financial crimes had been found hanged in cell in August 2019. The agents were accused of not having assured their rounds that night.
Le Monde
In the aftermath of Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted in New York of minor sexual trafficking, the American justice announced on Thursday, November 30 the abandonment of prosecutions against the prison guards who had not monitored his accomplice, the American Financial Jeffrey Epstein, the night of his suicide in 2019.
In a judicial order of the Federal Court of Manhattan, made public Thursday, Prosecutor Damian Williams signed “the abandonment of prosecution” (“prosequi” according to the consecrated legal formula) against Tova Noel and Michael Thomas.
Justice had charged these two guards from a New York prison, three months after the death of Epstein by hanging in his cell, on August 10, before his trial for sexual crimes.
The two penitentiary agents were accused of not having made their rounds of surveillance at night from August 9 to 10, 2019 and remaining at their desk, on the Internet. Mr. Epstein, a multi-healing financial financial financial and international, had been found dead at the dawn of 10 August and the autopsy had concluded a suicide by hanging, not without controversy and theories of the plot.
The American Minister of Justice of the time, William Barr, had denounced “serious” dysfunctions in this prison reputed, where Epstein had been detained since his arrest in July 2019. He was prosecuted for sexual crimes, including against minors.
Falsification of documents
In his classification order, the Manhattan prosecutor recalls that the two guards had “voluntarily” and “knowing” falsified “documents” to make believe that they had made their rounds that night. At the time, the director of the prison, the Metropolitan Correctional Center, had been mutated and the two suspended agents.
As part of their agreement with justice, MM. Christmas and Thomas were simply forced to work of general interest, according to the order.
Wednesday night, the old companion and accomplice of Epstein, the former British Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty by the Federal Court of Manhattan of a series of sexual crimes, especially the most serious: traffic minor girls between 1994 and 2004, for Epstein’s benefit.
Ms. Maxwell, 60, also French and American, incurs dozens of years in prison, but the date of sentencing has not yet been fixed. His lawyers announced that they would appeal and brother Kevin Maxwell said he was convinced of the innocence of his sister, describing the verdict “of great injustice” Thursday from the ABC chain.
The victims of the Maxwell-Epstein couple have expressed their relief against the outcome of the trial that would tend to prove that “no one is above the laws”.