Guards who helped cover up details of Jeffrey Epstein's death reach plea, escape prison time

Two guards charged with watching over Jeffrey Epstein while he was in jail admitting to making up records. Even with the plea, the guards will escape jail sentenced for their cover-up.

Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were guards at the Metropolitan Correction Center when Epstein killed himself in Aug. 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges related to sex trafficking and sexual assault of minors. 

Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide, but conspiracy theories suggest something was amiss and he did not kill himself.

Noel and Thomas admitted to falsifying count and round slips to show they were regularly checking the cells in the jail’s Special Housing Unit, according to a letter filed by prosecutors in federal court.  

Prosecutors and the defendants reached a plea deal that will have them admit to the crime and the duo will have to serve six months on probation. They will also have to complete 100 hours of community service, according to the prosecutor’s letter. 

Noel and Thomas must also cooperate with a Department of Justice investigation related to their employment at the jail and the allegations of falsifying records, the letter notes. 

Epstein was a convicted sex offender whose case has drawn national attention over allegations of pedophilia. He was initially sentenced in Florida state court, but served minimal jail time. 

A decade later, Epstein was federally charged and died of an apparent suicide while in custody. Ghislaine Maxwell, an alleged accomplice of Epstein, was also federally charged. She is being held in jail as she awaits trial.  

A recent federal lawsuit also alleged Epstein and Maxwell raped a victim and threatened to feed her to alligators if she told anyone.