The pair were supposed to be watching the pedophile the night he died, but reportedly slept through it.
Two prison guards who were supposed to be watching Jeffrey Epstein the night he died have been arrested.
The Bureau of Prisons employees are facing federal charges related to their alleged failure to check on him before he was found hanged in his cell, the New York Times reported.
They are the first charges related to the criminal investigation into the death of the convicted pedophile.
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View StoryThe 66-year-old billionaire was found dead on August 10 in New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was awaiting his trial on sex-trafficking charges.
After an autopsy, the New York City Chief Medical Examiner concluded suicide by hanging; however three neck bone fractures inconsistent with hanging have fueled the persistent theory he was strangled to death and then hung by a bedsheet to cover it up.
Instead of checking on Epstein in the high security unit every half hour like they were supposed to, the two prison workers fell asleep for hours and falsified records to cover the fact up, according to the NYT.
The two were suspended shortly afterward, while the warden in charge was reassigned over the major lapses in protocol.
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View StoryIn 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty and was convicted by a Florida state court of procuring an underage girl for prostitution, and served 13 months in prison.
He was arrested again on July 6 of this year, on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York.
He reportedly attempted suicide on July 23 and was placed on suicide watch, but taken off 6 days later.
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