Guards Accused of Napping and Shopping Online the Night Epstein Died

Authored by nytimes.com and submitted by StevenSanders90210

That evening, Ms. Noel and Mr. Thomas were both working overtime shifts. Ms. Noel had been working as a correction officer in the Manhattan jail since 2016. Mr. Thomas started there as a correction officer in 2007, and though he was assigned to another position within the jail in 2013, he frequently worked overtime shifts as an officer, the indictment said.

Mr. Epstein was escorted into his cell by Ms. Noel and another guard shortly before 8 p.m., according to the indictment. By 10 p.m., inmates were locked in their cells for the night. At around 10:30 p.m., surveillance footage showed Ms. Noel walking up to the only door to the cluster of cells where Mr. Epstein was housed, the indictment said. Over the next few hours, nobody approached the wing, including Ms. Noel and Mr. Thomas. They were supposed to check in on Mr. Epstein and other inmates every half-hour.

But instead of monitoring detainees, the two “sat at their desk, browsed the internet and moved around the common area,” the indictment said. They then signed “count sheets” saying they had checked on inmates multiple times overnight when they had not.

The next morning, when Ms. Noel and Mr. Thomas entered Mr. Epstein’s cell, they found him unresponsive “with a noose around his neck,” according to the indictment. When a supervisor arrived, the guards admitted they had not properly performed their duties.

“We did not complete the 3 a.m. nor 5 a.m. rounds,” Ms. Noel said, according to the indictment.

Mr. Thomas said, “She’s not to blame, we didn’t do any rounds.”

The director of the Bureau of Prisons, Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, said in a statement that the agency was taking the allegations of misconduct “very seriously” and that they “will be responded to appropriately.”

The Bureau of Prisons has completed its own internal audit of whether procedures were followed at the Manhattan jail and the conduct of its staff, but the results are not expected to be publicly released, according to people familiar with the audit.

marbitross on November 19th, 2019 at 15:21 UTC »

Probably the only two arrests that will happen with this whole Epstein case.

mrekon123 on November 19th, 2019 at 14:47 UTC »

Ghislaine Maxwell is still a free woman and escaped prosecution completely.

Treasonmanbad on November 19th, 2019 at 13:55 UTC »

they will be charged for falsifying logs leading to a suicide and the case will be closed.