Jeffrey Epstein was arrested earlier this month on charges of sex trafficking underage girls in the early 2000s.

Since then, horrifying details of his criminal activities have been brought forth in court, including the names of the women who allegedly helped him find, groom, and sexually assault young girls.

While the trial progresses, Epstein has been confined to a federal jail in New York City.

CNBC reports that he is now on suicide watch after he was found injured in his cell on Wednesday night, US time.

Epstein, who was arrested in early July on federal charges, was on the floor of his cell in a fetal position when he was discovered, sources told NBC. He was semi-conscious and had marks on his neck when he was found.

Epstein may have tried to hang himself in the lower Manhattan lockup, according to sources who spoke with WNBC-TV.

But another source said Epstein’s injuries were not serious, and raised the possibility that he may have used the incident to try obtain a transfer from the jail.

A fourth source who spoke with NBC said that officials have not ruled out the chance that Epstein was assaulted in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

Another inmate,  Nicholas Tartaglione, a former New York police officer who was arrested and accused of killing four men in an alleged cocaine distribution conspiracy, is being questioned about the incident.

Sources told WNBC that Tartaglione claimed that he did not see anything happen to Epstein, and said he did not touch him. Tartaglione’s lawyer told the station that his client and Epstein get along with each other, and that Epstein was seen at the jail Wednesday and appeared to be fine.

Tartaglione’s lawyer claims that the story has been leaked to retaliate against him for complaining about the conditions in the jail.

As for why Epstein might have felt the need to end things, recent events provide some clues.

Last week, a judge denied Epstein bail upwards of $100 million because he represented a danger to women if he was released.

Judge Richard Berman also noted the fact that Epstein had in recent months made large payments to potential witnesses against him, and the discovery by FBI agents of a trove of lewd photographs of young women at his Manhattan townhouse.

“This newly discovered evidence also suggests that Mr. Epstein poses ‘ongoing and forward-looking danger,’” the judge wrote. “Mr. Epstein’s dangerousness is considerable and includes sex crimes with minor girls and tampering with potential witnesses.”

The court case is ongoing.

[source:cnbc]