Jail Staff Was Told Not To Leave Jeffrey Epstein Alone: Report

NEW YORK — Several federal prison staffers knew not to leave Jeffrey Epstein alone in his Manhattan jail cell — but did so anyway, according to a new report.

At least eight Bureau of Prisons officials knew of a directive not to leave the pedophile financier by himself at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The group reportedly included managers and supervisors.

But the workers appear to have ignored the instructions in the day leading up to Epstein's Aug. 10 death, according to the Post. The city's medical examiner ruled that he hanged himself while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

"If people were given instructions that Epstein should not be left alone, I don’t understand how they were not followed," Robert Hood, a former warden of the notorious federal Supermax prison in Colorado, told the Post.

The revelation comes as federal officials probe how Epstein, 66, was allowed to take his own life despite being one of the nation's most high-profile criminal defendants. His death is under investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice's inspector general.

Epstein was not on suicide watch despite making a possible attempt at killing himself about three weeks before his death. And previous news reports have detailed how guards fell asleep and failed to check on him for hours.

Read The Washington Post's full report here.