Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was allowed to buy small women’s underwear while serving a jail sentence for soliciting a minor for prostitution, official records have revealed.
Epstein, a wealthy financier with links to the higher ranks of US society, hung himself in his cell in Manhattan following his arrest last month. He had pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls as young as 14.
Before his arrest on 6 July 2019, Epstein served another 13 months in custody in Florida in 2008-2009 after a state court found him guilty of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
During that jail term, he was allowed to purchase female underwear that would not fit an average adult woman, the Miami Herald revealed after examining records obtained from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
While in custody in Florida between 30 June 2008 and 22 July 2009, Epstein benefited from a generous work-release programme that allowed him to walk out of prison for up to 16 hours per day for six or seven days a week.
Some records even began to refer to him as a “client” rather than an inmate.
Epstein’s death has caused outrage and prompted an investigation into the circumstances that allowed him to escape justice and apparently take his own life.
Attorney general William Barr said there were “serious irregularities” within the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York City, where Epstein was awaiting trial.
Reports have indicated that standard protocol was not met in the jail.
An autopsy concluded that the cause of his death was suicide.
Two guards have been put on administrative leave after it was determined that they had fallen asleep and had falsified records in a log to indicate they had been checking on the disgraced financier every 30 minutes, as was required.
Falsified entries such as those could constitute a federal crime.
