Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein has killed himself in prison ahead of facing trial on sex trafficking charges, according to US media.
The 66-year-old, who was being held without bail in a Manhattan jail, was accused of abusing dozens of underage girls in New York and Florida.
Epstein, who denied the charges, was reportedly found unconscious with neck injuries on the floor of his cell last month. His lawyers declined to comment at the time.
He pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution-related charges involving underage girls, in exchange for the Justice Department’s agreement not to prosecute him on similar charges.
Epstein served 13 months in jail and agreed to register as a sex offender under the 2008 plea deal, which was now widely seen as too lenient.
His lawyers had argued the agreement barred federal prosecutors in Manhattan from pursuing the latest case over the same conduct.
However, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said there was no such block.
