Two guards at the jail where Jeffrey Epstein was held fell asleep, failed to check on him and then falsified records to say they checked on the billionaire sex offender when they did not, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The sleepy guards failed to check on Epstein for about three hours Saturday morning, including the time he is believed to have killed himself, according to the report.
On Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr put both guards on administrative leave. The warden was also ousted.
The guards were required to check on Epstein every 30 minutes, but that procedure was not followed, the Times reported citing law enforcement and prison sources. If they falsified their logs they could be charged with a federal crime.
Epstein, who was facing federal sex trafficking charges, apparently hung himself with a bedsheets early Saturday morning in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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