Guards Who Slept the Night of Jeffrey Epstein’s Suicide Make Deal to Avoid Jail Time

A pair of corrections officers tasked with guarding Jeffrey Epstein’s cell the night he committed suicide have made a deal with prosecutors allowing them to avoid jail time.

“Under the deferred prosecution agreement, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas will admit that they falsified records and will be sentenced to 100 hours of community service, according to a letter written by federal prosecutors Friday,” Fox News reported.

According to prosecutors, the two browsed online and slept at their desks located 15 feet from Epstein’s cell instead of performing their scheduled rounds each half-hour.

The Fox report continued:

Under the deal, Noel and Thomas “admitted that they ‘willfully and knowingly completed materially false count and round slips'” for the housing unit where they were assigned. According to the original indictment, Thomas admitted to a supervisor that they “messed up” upon finding Epstein unresponsive, adding, “I messed up, she’s not to blame, we didn’t do any rounds.” One of the guards was working their second eight-hour shift of the day, while the other was working a fifth straight day of overtime. Many Bureau of Prisons workers regularly work overtime due to massive staffing shortages.

“The pair will undergo supervised release, cooperate with the Justice Department’s inspector general, and complete 100 hours of community service,” the article read.

Prosecutors have reportedly proposed a hearing for Tuesday, however, Judge Analisa Torres will need to approve the deferred prosecution agreement.

Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, after being charged on sex-trafficking related charges, Breitbart News reported.

“The news of his suicide comes weeks after authorities found the disgraced billionaire semi-conscious in his jail cell. At the time, Epstein was in a fetal position with marks around his neck, signifying a failed suicide attempt,” the outlet said at the time.

In March, Ghislaine Maxwell, the ex-girlfriend and one-time confidant of Epstein, was accused of sex trafficking a 14-year-old girl.

“Federal prosecutors filed the additional charges Monday, alleging Maxwell and Epstein recruited the underage girl to give massages that turned sexual at Epstein’s Palm Beach, Florida, residence,” Breitbart News reported.