U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters July 10, 2019. New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout via REUTERS.
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services | Handout | Reuters
Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was found injured in his cell in a federal jail in lower Manhattan, NBC News reported Wednesday night.
The wealthy financier Epstein was in a fetal position when he was discovered, sources told NBC.
He was semi-conscious and had marks on his neck when he was found.
Epstein may have tried to hang himself, according to sources who spoke with WNBC-TV. But another source said that Epstein's injuries were not serious, and raised the possibility that he may have used the incident to obtain a transfer from jail.
A fourth source who spoke with NBC said that officials have not ruled out the prospect that Epstein was assaulted in jail.
Epstein, 66, is charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where a judge last week denied him bail of upwards of $100 million because of his possible danger to women if released, and his risk of flight.
The former friend of Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Prosecutors say he sexually abused dozens of underage girls from 2002 through 2005 at this New York City townhouse and Palm Beach, Florida, who visited him under the guise of giving him massages.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges in Florida related to an underage girl.
He was not prosecuted on federal charges at the time due to a non-prosecution agreement he reached with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, which was headed at the time by Alex Acosta. Acosta resigned this month as U.S. Labor secretary after controversy over that deal.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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