Jeffrey Epstein Dies While Awaiting Sex Trafficking Trial

Jeffery Epstein, a financier who was recently indicted on charges of sex trafficking, was found dead this morning in Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. According to authorities, Epstein died by suicide, the New York Times reports. His body was found on Saturday morning.

Epstein, 66, who was charged by Manhattan prosecutors last month of sex trafficking and conspiracy, had been previously found unconscious in his cell with marks around his neck. Epstein was under suicide watch at the facility. There was disagreement at the time about whether Epstein harmed himself or was attacked by fellow inmates.

The previous incident happened after Epstein was denied bail and deemed a flight risk by the court. He was not expected to stand trial until late in 2020. Epstein was accused of sex trafficking and abusing dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York City and Palm Beach, Florida, for years. He is accused of luring girls, some as young as 14, to his home under the guise of earning money for giving him massages. He was also alleged to have convinced those girls to bring him new girls.

Epstein, a billionaire money manager associated with the likes of President Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, has long been rumoured to have run an illegal sex trafficking ring, even facing official charges once before in 2008. He was however able to reach an extremely lenient plea deal, which led to him only serving 13 months in county jail.

The deal was widely criticised, especially in the wake of a blockbuster investigation by reporter Julie K. Brown in The Miami Herald that exposed thousands of emails, court documents, and FBI records implicating Epstein. Since its publication in November 2018, momentum to find a way to arrest Epstein, this time with new victims and new criminal evidence such as transporting victims across state lines, had been building.