Financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was facing federal sex trafficking charges, has died from an apparent suicide, CBS News has confirmed. Federal prosecutors in New York alleged he abused dozens of underage girls as young as 14.
Epstein, 66, had been put on suicide watch after he was found injured on the floor of his cell in late July. At the time, law enforcement sources told CBS News Epstein was found lying on the floor of his cell, semi-conscious with slight bruising around his neck.
Epstein was charged last month with one count of sex trafficking conspiracy and one count of sex trafficking with underage females. He pleaded not guilty.
Trending News
The indictment came 11 years after Epstein cut a deal with attorneys in Florida to avoid a similar charge. “Over the course of many years, Jeffrey Epstein, the defendant, sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations,” the indictment reads.
Reaction to Jeffrey Epstein’s death
An attorney who has represented more than a dozen women accusing Epstein of sexual abuse called the apparent suicide “unfortunate and predictable.”
“While we engaged in contentious legal battles for more than a decade, this is not the ending anyone was looking for,” Brad Edwards said in a statement. “The victims deserved to see Epstein held accountable, and he owed it to everyone he hurt to accept responsibility for all of the pain he caused.”
“We will continue to represent his victims and will not stop in their pursuit of finality and justice,” Edwards said.
Controversial plea deal in 2008
The well-connected billionaire had admitted to sex abuse in the past. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to “soliciting and procuring” an underage person for “prostitution.” Court documents reveal “the charges stemmed from sexual activity with privately hired masseuses.”
Epstein’s prior guilty plea was part of a deal with prosecutors, who included President Trump’s future secretary of labor, Alex Acosta, who resigned amid outcry over the deal after the new charges were announced. Epstein spent 13 months in a Florida county jail and had to register as a sex offender but faced immunity from federal prosecution.
