Some college districts within the US dropped plans for sophistication photos after widespread social media posts linked a billionaire with ties to Jeffrey Epstein to the pictures large Lifetouch, which on Friday known as the claims “utterly false.”
The disruption to highschool image plans in Texas and elsewhere started after on-line posts linked Lifetouch, which images tens of millions of scholars annually, to the funding fund supervisor Apollo World Administration.
Apollo’s former CEO is billionaire investor Leon Black, who met repeatedly with Epstein and was suggested by Epstein on monetary issues.
Black led the corporate in 2019, when funds managed by Apollo purchased Lifetouch’s guardian firm, Shutterfly.
The $2.7 billion deal closed in September 2019 — a month after Epstein’s dying by suicide behind bars as he awaited trial over allegations from federal prosecutors that he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of ladies.
Each Lifetouch and Apollo famous that timeline in statements Friday, two days after Lifetouch CEO Ken Murphy mentioned in an Instagram publish that neither Black nor any of Apollo’s administrators or buyers ever had any entry to Lifetouch images.
“No Lifetouch executives have ever had any relationship or contact with Epstein and we have now by no means shared pupil pictures with any third occasion, together with Apollo,” Lifetouch mentioned in its assertion Friday. “Apollo and its funds additionally don’t have any position in Lifetouch’s every day operations and don’t have any entry to pupil pictures.”
The canceled college photos are one other ripple impact over the launch of tens of millions of information from the Epstein investigation, together with paperwork displaying Epstein’s common contacts with CEOs, journalists, scientists and outstanding politicians lengthy after a 2008 conviction on intercourse crimes prices.
Within the small Texas city of Malakoff, the native college district canceled a pupil image day after a number of mother and father instructed the district they weren’t comfy with Lifetouch photographing their youngsters, spokesperson Katherine Smith mentioned in an announcement e-mailed Friday.
A number of different faculties and districts in Texas additionally canceled or modified plans, in addition to a constitution college in Arizona, in accordance with Fb bulletins posted by the colleges.
“We determined our college students and households could be greatest served by holding all of our photos in-house for the remainder of this 12 months, and we’re all of our choices for the 2026-2027 college 12 months,” Smith mentioned.
Mother and father involved about Lifetouch included MaKallie Gann, whose youngsters attend faculties in Howe, about 60 miles north of Dallas. She mentioned she was frightened about how a lot info Lifetouch collects on college students.
“Everytime you order the images, it has their title. It has the age, after all. It has their grade, their trainer, the college that they’re in,” she mentioned.
No proof of Epstein or anybody in his orbit seeing Lifetouch images has emerged from information organizations’ assessment of hundreds of paperwork launched this month by the U.S. Division of Justice, although there are not less than 1.7 million information.
The assessment reveals Black’s title appeared 8,200 instances, although that determine doubtless consists of some duplicate information. Black stepped down as Apollo’s CEO in March 2021, saying he needed to concentrate on his household, well being, and “many different pursuits.”
That was two months after a committee of the corporate’s board issued a report concluding that Epstein had suggested Black personally on property planning, tax points, charitable giving and operating his “household workplace,” however supplied no providers to Apollo or invested in no Apollo funds.
The report additionally mentioned the assessment — which Black requested — discovered “no proof” that he was concerned with Epstein’s alleged felony actions “in any means” or “at any time.” ___
Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. Additionally contributing was Related Press author Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota.
