Jeffrey Epstein guards who slept the night of his suicide strike deal to avoid time behind bars
Two guards from housing unit where Jeffrey Epstein died will complete 100 hours of community service
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two corrections officers who were supposed to be guarding Jeffrey Epstein's cell the night he died by suicide cut a deal with prosecutors Friday that will allow them to avoid time behind bars.
Under the deferred prosecution agreement, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas will admit that they falsified records and will be sentenced to 100 hours of community service, according to a letter written by federal prosecutors Friday.
Prosecutors said that the pair browsed the internet and slept at their desks just 15 feet from Epstein's cell instead of making their scheduled rounds every half-hour.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tova Noel and Michael Thomas will admit that they falsified records from the night Jeffrey Epstein died and will be sentenced to 100 hours of community service, according to a letter written by federal prosecutors Friday. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
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Under the deal, Noel and Thomas "admitted that they 'willfully and knowingly completed materially false count and round slips'" for the housing unit where they were assigned.
According to the original indictment, Thomas admitted to a supervisor that they "messed up" upon finding Epstein unresponsive, adding, "I messed up, she’s not to blame, we didn’t do any rounds."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One of the guards was working their second eight-hour shift of the day, while the other was working a fifth straight day of overtime. Many Bureau of Prisons workers regularly work overtime due to massive staffing shortages.
The pair will undergo supervised release, cooperate with the Justice Department's inspector general, and complete 100 hours of community service.
Prosecutors proposed a hearing for next Tuesday. Judge Analisa Torres still needs to approve the deferred prosecution agreement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)
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Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges. He was placed on suicide watch after he was found with a strip of bedsheet around his neck on July 23.
He was transferred to the prison's hospital wing for about a week then returned to a regular cell on July 30. Epstein's cellmate was transferred on Aug. 9, the day before Epstein was found unresponsive.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The New York City Medical Examiner ruled Epstein's death on Aug. 10 a suicide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.