Jeffrey Epstein 'Found Dead' In Prison Cell

10 August 2019, 14:19 | Updated: 10 August 2019, 17:18

Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead in his New York prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, according to the medical examiner's office.

Jeffrey Epstein has killed himself in prison ahead of facing trial on sex trafficking charges.

The 66-year-old, who was being held without bail in a Manhattan jail, was accused of abusing dozens of underage girls at his homes in Manhattan and Florida between 2002 and 2005.

Mr Epstein was arrested on the 6th July after landing in New Jersey on his private jet.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges, but in July was found semi-conscious in his cell with injuries to his neck, before being returned to his cell at New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center where he was placed on suicide watch.

He was found at 7:30am (local time) and had taken his life.

His death, first reported by US media, was confirmed by the medial examiner's office.

It comes a day after unsealed documents in New York revealed the extent of his abuse of young women.

Hundreds of pages of court documents unsealed in New York federal court allege new details of sexual abuse claims against the multimillionaire and several associates.

In 2008 Mr Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges involving underage girls, in exchange for the Justice Department's agreement not to prosecute him on similar charges.

He served 13 months in prison and agreed to register as a sex offender under the 2008 plea deal.

If you identify with the topics raised in this article, we encourage you to reach out to the Samaritans. You can call them for free on 116 123, or visit their website, www.samaritans.org. Separately the Survivors Trust provides specialist support for women, men and children who have survived rape, sexual violence or childhood sexual abuse. Their website is www.thesurvivorstrust.org.