What We Know About Jeffrey Epstein’s DeathThe jail workers fell asleep.Two staff members at the high-security jail — the Metropolitan Correctional Center — who were supposed to check on Mr. Epstein every 30 minutes fell asleep, law enforcement and jail officials told The Times.
Mr. Epstein’s cell went unchecked for about three hours, the officials said. Both staff members in the special housing unit where Mr. Epstein, 66, was held falsely logged that they had inspected his cell as required.
The two workers, whose names have not been released, were placed on administrative leave as the F.B.I., the Bureau of Prisons and the Justice Department continued their investigations regarding Mr. Epstein’s death.
The jail’s warden, Lamine N’Diaye, was reassigned to a Bureau of Prisons office in Philadelphia.
One of the staff members watching Mr. Epstein was not a guard. One of the staff members on duty last weekend was a former correctional officer whose primary job did not involve watching inmates, according to the officials. He had volunteered to guard detainees to collect overtime pay.
The other guard, who was assigned to the unit where Mr. Epstein was held, 9 South, was working overtime because the jail was understaffed.
The investigations continue.An “after-action team” — led by the Bureau of Prisons’ Southeast regional director — was scheduled to visit the jail yesterday to determine whether employees and officials followed protocols before Mr. Epstein died.
This came after the United States attorney general, William Barr, called on Monday for the Justice Department’s inspector general to inquire why Mr. Epstein, who had apparently tried to kill himself on July 23, was taken off suicide watch.
“We will get to the bottom of what happened,” Mr. Barr said. “There will be accountability.”
Despite Mr. Epstein’s death, more lawsuits could still be coming.Yesterday, Jennifer Araoz, 32, who has accused Mr. Epstein of raping her when she was 15, filed a lawsuit in New York against Mr. Epstein’s estate.
Although Mr. Epstein’s death ended the federal criminal case against him, his accusers could still file lawsuits against his estate, which is believed to be worth at least $500 million. Ms. Araoz is suing under the Child Victims Act, a new law in New York that extends the time that sexual abuse victims have to file lawsuits.
The law has created a one-year “look-back window,” during which claims that had already passed the statute of limitations could be revived. Yesterday was the first day of this window.
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