EPSTEIN
page 3 / 84 . OCR, unverified
cellmate,
no new cellmate· was
assigned to Epstein's cell.
15. TOVA NOEL, the defendant, was one of the assigned
officers on duty in the SHU from 4 p.m. on August 9, 2019 to 8
a.m. on August 10.
From 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., two other officers
were on duty with NOEL in the SHU: one officer was assigned to
work from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. ("Officer-1"), and one officer was
Case 1:19-cr-00830-AT Document 1 Filed 11/19/19 Page 8 of 20
assigned to work from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. ("Officer-2")
MICHAEL
THOMAS, the defendant, started his shift in the SHU at 12 a.m. on
August 10.
From 12 a.m. until 8 a.m. on August 10, NOEL and THOMAS
were the only two officers on duty in the SHU.
16. During the time period from 4 p.m. on August 9 to
a.m. on August 10, the officers on duty in the SHU, including
TOVA NOEL and MICHAEL THOMAS, the defendants, were responsible for
conducting five institutional counts: 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. on August
9; and 12 a.m., 3 a.m., and 5 a.m. on August 10.
NOEL, THOMAS and
the other officers on duty were also responsible for completing
paperwork attesting to each of those counts.
While, as detailed
herein, count slips were completed for each institutional count,
in fact, not a single one of those institutional counts was done.
17. TOVA
NOEL,
the
defendant,
and
Officer-1
were
responsible for conducting the 4 p.m. institutional count in the
SHU.
As video from the MCC's internal video surveillance system
makes clear, NOEL and Officer-1 did not perform the 4 p.m. count.
Nonetheless, NOEL and Officer-1 completed and signed a count slip
that falsely stated that the 4 p.m. institutional count had been
performed.
In
reliance
on
that
falsified
count
slip,
at
approximately 5:03 p.m., the Control Center cleared the 4 p.m.
count.
Case 1:19-cr-00830-AT Document 1 Filed 11/19/19 Page 9 of 20
18. That evening, Epstein returned to the SHU from his
attorney visit and was escorted into his cell by TOVA NOEL, the
defendant, and another officer at approximately 7:49 p.m.
NOEL
and the other officer left the tier in which Epstein was housed
immediately thereafter.
19. By or before 10 p.m., all inmates in the MCC were
locked in their cells for the night.
At or around that time, TOVA
NOEL, the defendant, and Officer-2 were responsible for conducting
the 10 p.m. institutional count in the SHU.
However, video from
the MCC's internal video surveillance system shows that NOEL and
Officer-2 did not perform the 10 p.m. count.
Nonetheless, NOEL
and Officer-2 completed and signed a count slip falsely stating
that the 10 p.m. institutional count had been performed.
In
reliance on that falsified count slip, at approximately 10:36 p.m.,
the Control Center cleared the 10 p.m. count.
20. As
reflected on video obtained from the MCC' s
internal video surveillance system, at approximately 10:30 p.m. on
August 9, 2019 -
after TOVA NOEL, the defendant, had signed and
submitted the 10 p.m. count slip and the institutional count had
been completed -
NOEL briefly walked up to, and then walked back
from,
the door to the tier in which Epstein was housed.
As
confirmed by the video obtained from the MCC' s internal video
surveillance system, this was the last time anyone, including any
Case 1:19-cr-00830-AT Document 1 Filed 11/19/19 Page 10 of 20
correctional officer, walked up to, let alone entered, the only
entrance
to
the
tier
in
which
Epstein
was
housed
until
approximately 6:30 a.m. on August 10.
21. Officer-1' s shift ended at approximately 10 p.m.,
and at approximately 12 a.m.,
MICHAEL
THOMAS,
the defendant,
replaced Officer-2, joining TOVA NOEL, the defendant, as the only
two correctional officers on duty in the SHU.
NOEL and THOMAS
were responsible for conducting the 12 a.m. institutional count in
the SHU.
As confirmed by video from the MCC' s internal video
surveillance system, NOEL and THOMAS did not perform the 12 a.m.
count.
Nonetheless, NOEL and THOMAS completed and signed a count
slip for
the
a.m.
count
that
falsely stated that the
institutional count had been performed.
In reliance on that
falsified count slip, at approximately 12: 49 a.m., the Control
Center cleared the 12 a.m. count.
22.
TOVA NOEL and MICHAEL THOMAS, the defendants, were
additionally responsible for conducting the 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.
institutional counts in the SHU.
As confirmed by video from the
MCC's internal video surveillance system, NOEL and THOMAS did not
perform either the 3 a.m. or the 5 a.m. counts.
NOEL and THOMAS
nonetheless completed and signed count slips for both counts that
falsely stated that they had performed the 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.
institutional counts.
In reliance on those falsified count slips,
Case 1:19-cr-00830-AT Document 1 Filed 11/19/19 Page 11 of 20
at approximately 3:24 a.m.
and 5:30 a.m., the Control Center
cleared the 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. counts, respectively.
23. Moreover, despite the requirement that officers on