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| Jeffrey Epstein, in this undated handout from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, has been accused of sexually assaulting minors Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department/AFP/File |
New York (AFP) - Disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is accused of trafficking underage girls for sex, was found unconscious in his New York jail cell after a possible suicide attempt, US media reported Thursday.
Epstein --
a convicted pedophile -- was discovered on Tuesday at a federal jail with marks
on his neck, anonymous law enforcement sources told multiple media outlets
including The New York Times.
The
66-year-old, who has befriended countless celebrities and politicians over the
years, was taken from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan to
hospital and the injuries are not believed to be serious, media reports said.
Guards are
also investigating whether Epstein was the victim of a possible assault -- or
if he injured himself in a bid to be transferred out of the jail -- as they
piece together what happened.
Prison
officials, lawyers for Epstein, and prosecutors were not immediately available
for comment when contacted by AFP.
The wealthy
hedge fund manager was denied bail last week after appearing at a New York
court charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of
conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.
He denies
the charges and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
In the
ruling, Judge Richard Berman cited Epstein's ownership of a private jet, along
with a fake Austrian passport and $70,000 in cash found in his house, as
evidence that the financier could skip bail.
Epstein's
lawyers had argued that he should be allowed to remain at his home, fitted with
an electronic ankle bracelet and with his building under police video
surveillance.
Prosecutors
say Epstein sexually exploited dozens of underage teenagers, some as young as 14
years old, at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and
2005.
They claim
that Epstein was "well aware that many of the victims were minors."
The girls
were paid hundreds of dollars in cash to massage him, perform sexual acts and
to recruit other girls, prosecutors allege.
They say
that Epstein had an army of recruiters often not much older than their targets
who would approach vulnerable teens.
Trump,
Clinton and British prince
Once
recruited, the girls' names were entered into a "little black book."
Alleged
victim Jennifer Araoz, 32, told NBC News that she was recruited by a woman
outside her New York high school in 2001 to meet Epstein at his Manhattan
townhouse. She said that in the fall of 2002, Epstein raped her.
Epstein is
also accused of paying off possible co-conspirators to "influence"
them, US media have reported.
New York
prosecutors said they had obtained financial records showing Epstein wired
$350,000, just days after reports broke of a secret plea deal he negotiated a
decade ago, news reports said.
Epstein,
whose friends have included President Donald Trump, former president Bill
Clinton and Britain's Prince Andrew, was convicted previously of paying young
girls for sexual massages at his Palm Beach mansion.
But he
avoided federal prosecution under the plea deal that required Epstein to admit
to a single state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor and register
as a sex offender.
He served
just 13 months in a county jail before being released in 2009.
Earlier
this month, Alex Acosta resigned as US labor secretary amid a backlash over the
deal that he negotiated with Epstein while he was a federal prosecutor in Florida.
Epstein is
next due to appear in court on July 31.
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