NEW YORK – US billionaire Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide overnight in prison where he had been pending trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors, law enforcement officers said, local media reported on Saturday.
Epstein was transported in cardiac arrest early to New York Downtown Hospital on Saturday from Metropolitan Correctional Center where he was locked up awaiting trial, three law enforcers told ABC news.
Police have been investigating Epstein since the 2000s. The first time he was arrested took place in 2005 for molesting an underage girl. He served 13 months in custody.
He was arrested for the second time in July 2019 for alleged sex trafficking of minor girls at his mansion. Some of the charges dated back to the 2000s.
Epstein pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. If convicted, he would have faced up to 45 years behind bars.
