US Judge drops charges against jail guards who were on duty when Jeffrey Epstein died

A judge in the United States dismissed charges against two Bureau of Prisons guards who had accepted falsifying records about Jeffrey Epstein killing himself in prison. The US judge Analisa Torres on Monday ordered the charges to be dropped against the guards, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, according to AP. The charges against them were dropped after the guards completed the deferred prosecution agreement they had signed in May. 

As per the agreement, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas also needed to do 100 hours of community service. The judge ordered dismissing the charges against the prison guards after the prosecutors had last week made the request for dropping the charges. Jeffrey Epstein was awaiting a trial in the sex trafficking case when he killed himself in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019.

Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in prison

In 2019, when Epstein took his life, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were working as guards. As per the court papers, prosecutors claimed that Noel and Thomas were at their desks just 15 feet far from Epstein’s cell and they were shopping online for furniture and motorcycles. As per the AP report, the guards did not make the rounds every 30 minutes. As per the court indictment, both of them had allegedly slept for one two-hour stretch and did not complete the required rounds. 

Lawyers blame sleepiness on staff shortages

The lawyers had put the blame of sleepiness of both the guards on staff shortages in the now-closed Metropolitan Correctional Center. The attorney, Jason Foy, in the release, insisted that his client Noel had given the government information related to “truthful insight into the toxic culture, subpar training, staffing shortages, and dysfunctional management of the now closed Metropolitan Correctional Center," as per the AP report. He added that all the charges against her were dismissed in exchange for her cooperation and added that his client now faces administrative proceedings with the Bureau of Prisons. The decision of dismissing the charges comes after Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been convicted of sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

(Inputs from AP)