Jeffrey Epstein case: E prison guard Tova Noel rejects cover-up claims, says she has faced relentless threats
A former corrections officer who was on duty the night convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan jail says years of
A former corrections officer who was on duty the night convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan jail says years of conspiracy theories and threats have devastated her personal and professional life, according to a transcript of her interview with the House Oversight Committee obtained and published by ABC News. According to the news outlet, former Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) officer Tova Noel told lawmakers that she continues to face harassment, threats and accusations linking her to Epstein's death despite never being charged in connection with causing it. "I thought that I would be able to privately rebuild my life and career. Instead, I have consistently been the subject of threats to my life, conspiracy theories, and outrageous rumors, impacting my mental and physical health," Noel said, according to the transcript reviewed by the news site. She added that she has received threats from strangers and continues to face harassment at her home and workplace. "I have received threats from strangers. I have witnessed strangers pontificate about whether I'm a murderer or that I'll end up dead," Noel told lawmakers, according to the news outlet. Blames 'dysfunctional culture' at MCC ABC News reported that Noel acknowledged failing to properly perform required inmate checks on the night Epstein died but said her actions reflected longstanding systemic problems within the facility.
"My responsibility to conduct counts and rounds was improperly executed because of severe understaffing, a lack of adequate training, inadequate communication between management and frontline correctional officers, and other systemic failures," Noel was quoted as saying. She described the failures as part of what she called the "MCC Way," referring to operational practices at the now-shuttered federal jail. Admitted falsifying records Noel and another correctional officer were charged in November 2019. Federal prosecutors alleged the officers spent much of their shift at their desks browsing the internet and failed to check inmates in the Special Housing Unit for approximately eight hours before Epstein was discovered unresponsive in his cell. ABC News reported that Noel admitted she submitted paperwork indicating rounds had been completed. However, she insisted the record falsification was unrelated to Epstein's death and was not part of any cover-up. Both Noel and the other officer later entered agreements with prosecutors, and the charges were dismissed in December 2021. Responds to internet search questions ABC News reported that lawmakers questioned Noel about internet searches conducted shortly before Epstein was found dead. Among the records released by the Department of Justice was a search for "latest on Epstein in jail" less than an hour before his death.
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