NEW YORK: A federal judge on Thursday formally dismissed the criminal sex trafficking case against financier Jeffrey Epstein in light of his death in jail earlier this month.
US District Judge Richard Berman had said at a hearing on Tuesday that he was legally bound to dismiss the case. Prosecutors said at that hearing that an investigation into Epstein’s alleged crimes would continue, and that the dismissal would not prevent them from charging possible co-conspirators in the future.
Epstein’s lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
Epstein, a wealthy 66-year-old money manager who once counted US President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and Britain’s Prince Andrew as friends, was arrested on July 6 and pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges involving dozens of girls as young as 14.
He was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, having been previously taken off suicide watch. A New York City medical examiner concluded that he had died of suicide by hanging.
Epstein’s lawyers said at Tuesday’s hearing that they had doubts about the examiner’s conclusion. The FBI is examining two cameras that were outside the cell that malfunctioned, a law enforcement source has told Reuters.
A source earlier told Reuters two jail guards had failed to follow a procedure overnight to make separate checks on all prisoners every 30 minutes.
At Tuesday’s court hearing, 16 women said Epstein had sexually abused them, with some lamenting that his death deprived them of the opportunity to obtain justice.
