The warden in charge of the Metropolitan Correctional Center where alleged child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was held before his death has been reassigned.
The Department of Justice announced the temporary leadership change on Tuesday, days after Epstein, 66, died of an apparent suicide.
“Today, the Attorney General directed the Bureau of Prisons to temporarily assign the warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York to the Bureau’s Northeast Regional Office pending the outcome of the FBI and OIG investigations into the apparent suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, a former MCC inmate,” Department of Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement.
It went on, “FCI Otisville Warden James Petrucci has been named Acting Warden of the MCC New York. The Bureau of Prisons also placed on administrative leave two MCC staff assigned to Mr. Epstein’s unit pending the outcome of the investigations. Additional actions may be taken as the circumstances warrant.”
Following Epstein’s death, Attorney General William Barr said that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz will be looking into Epstein’s death in addition to an FBI investigation.
Epstein was charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy last month. The indictment alleges that Epstein “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations” between 2002 and 2005.
