World – Two prison officers responsible for guarding late US financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein the night he died were charged on Tuesday with falsifying records.
Correctional officers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas failed to check on Epstein every half hour and fabricated records to cover up their negligence, according to the US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“As alleged, the defendants had a duty to ensure the safety and security of federal inmates in their care at the Metropolitan Correctional Center,” US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement.
“Instead, they repeatedly failed to conduct mandated checks on inmates, and lied on official forms to hide their dereliction,” he added.
The indictment said the guards “sat at their desk, browsed the internet, and moved around the common area” instead of checking on prisoners.
