Question
Who are the correctional officers indicted in the Epstein prison case?
Answer
Two Metropolitan Correctional Center guards, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, were indicted in November 2019 on charges of falsifying prison records related to the night of Jeffrey Epstein’s death on August 10, 2019.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Noel and Thomas had been assigned to watch Epstein in the Special Housing Unit but had instead slept during their shift and falsified logs to indicate they had conducted required checks. Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell and declared dead that morning.
During the night preceding his death, Epstein had been in a cell alone after his cellmate was transferred — another procedural failure investigators noted, given Epstein had been placed on a suicide watch that was subsequently lifted despite the serious risk indicators his case presented.
Both guards entered into deferred prosecution agreements in 2021. Under the agreements, the federal charges were set aside pending their completion of community service and other requirements. If completed successfully, the charges would be dismissed. Both were removed from their BOP positions.
The criminal case against the guards addressed the falsified logs but did not resolve the broader question of whether Epstein’s death was a suicide or homicide — a question that the medical examiner’s initial ruling as suicide left contested, given the forensic findings examined by independent pathologists.
Sources
- Department of Justice indictment of Noel and Thomas, November 2019
- Southern District of New York deferred prosecution agreements, 2021
- BOP Inspector General investigation into MCC procedures