Jeffrey Epstein’s prison guards to avoid jail sentence in agreement with prosecutors
- The financier and registered sex offender was found after he hanged himself in his New York City prison cell
- Tova Noel and Michael Thomas had been accused of falling asleep and surfing the internet when they should have been monitoring Epstein on August 10, 2019
Two Manhattan prison guards who were on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein killed himself admitted to falsifying records but would avoid prison under an agreement with US prosecutors to resolve criminal charges.
Tova Noel and Michael Thomas had been accused of falling asleep and surfing the internet when they should have been monitoring Epstein on August 10, 2019, when the financier and registered sex offender was found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in downtown Manhattan.
Under a deferred prosecution agreement disclosed late on Friday, Noel and Thomas admitted to having “wilfully and knowingly” filled out documents claiming they had conducted regular checks in the housing unit where Epstein was being held.
Both would serve six months of supervised release, complete 100 hours of community service, and cooperate with an investigation by the US Department of Justice’s inspector general, including the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death.
Prosecutors said “the interests of justice will be best served” by the agreement, which requires a judge’s approval, perhaps as soon as May 25.
Lawyers for Noel and Thomas did not immediately respond on Saturday to requests for comment. Both defendants were charged in November 2019 and have been free on bail.