Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier who was being held in an NYC jail on sex trafficking charges, has reportedly been found dead by apparent suicide in his cell, NBC News reported.
Officials claim the 66-year-old millionaire was allegedly discovered at 7:30 a.m. this morning after having hanged himself inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
His indictment showed that between 2002 and 2005, he had sought out minors and paid them hundreds of dollars in cash in exchange for sex. Some of the girls were reportedly as young as 14 years old.
He was charged with one count of sex trafficking conspiracy and one count of sex trafficking, and was facing up to 45 years in prison if found guilty. He had previously plead not guilty and was being held without bail.
Unsealed documents were released on Friday and revealed the extent of the millionaire's abuse against minors.
Most notably revealed through the documents were claims from a woman named Virginia Roberts Giuffre who accused Epstein of keeping her as a teenage "sex slave". She also claimed he was assisted in his efforts by a British woman, Ghislaine Maxwell, who procured him minors.
He was found with injuries to his neck though it was unclear how he suffered those injuries. Some reports claimed they may have been self-afflicted while others said they were the result of an attack from another inmate.
Following the incident, Epstein had been placed on suicide watch.
h/t: NBC News, The Guardian
