The first sanctions were taken at the Manhattan prison as a result of “serious irregularities” noted after the suicide of the financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The first sanctions fell in Manhattan prison after the “serious irregularities” denounced in the wake of the death in custody of financier Jeffrey Epstein Saturday 10th August, 2019: the director was transferred temporarily and two employees suspended.
“Today, the Minister of Justice ordered the prison authorities to temporarily transfer the director of the Metropolitan Correctional Center (…) pending the outcome of the investigation by the FBI and the Inspector General,” said Tuesday. in a statement the ministry spokeswoman, Kerri Kupec.
“The prison administration also suspended two MCC officials responsible for the prison unit where Jeffrey Epstein was detained pending the outcome of the investigations,” she added, adding that “additional measures could be taken. “.
The spokesperson did not identify the two suspended employees.
Jeffrey Epstein, 66, was found dead at 6:30 am on Saturday morning at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, a federal prison deemed particularly safe, where he was awaiting trial for sexual assault on minors, scheduled to begin no earlier than June 2020.
He was arrested on July 6 and charged in New York for organizing, from 2002 to 2005 at least, a network of dozens of girls, some college girls, with whom he had sex in his many properties, including Manhattan and Florida.
On Monday, Minister William Barr denounced “serious irregularities” and deficiencies “to adequately secure” the prison where had been held since early July the financier, who was long a figure in the jet set, including among his friends Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, before becoming one of the country’s most prominent detainees.
Read also: Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide: speculation and conspiracy theories are raging in the United States
The investigation continues
Several media reported Sunday that Epstein was left alone in his cell while the detainees were supposed to be still two, and that the rounds scheduled every 30 minutes were not respected.
The financier, who had been found wounded on July 23 after apparently the first suicide attempt, also did not benefit from increased anti-suicide surveillance since July 29.
The causes of death have not yet been officially confirmed. The medical examiner in Manhattan said Sunday, after performing the autopsy, reserve his findings pending “more information.”
His death, more than a month after his arrest for multiple alleged assaults on minors, has aroused strong indignation, including among his victims declared that will never see him answer for his actions in court. He was risking up to 45 years in prison.
“I can assure you that the investigation will continue, targeting anyone (having been) an accomplice of Epstein. No accomplice will sleep quietly, “said Monday William Barr.
After the death of Jeffrey Epstein, the daughter of the late British media magnate Robert Maxwell, 57-year-old Ghislaine Maxwell, is now a suspect number one, although she denied any involvement.
She is accused by some of the alleged victims of the financier of actively recruiting young teenage girls to satisfy Epstein’s appetite and even to participate in the abuses.
Others are on the hot seat, including the French Jean-Luc Brunel, head of a modeling agency.
