NEW YORK – Wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges with girls as young as 14, was found injured in his Manhattan jail cell this week and received medical treatment.

It wasn’t clear whether bruising on the 66-year-old’s neck was self-inflicted or from an assault. Epstein was treated Tuesday and remains in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.

NBC New York, citing unidentified law enforcement officials, said Epstein was found with neck injuries after a possible suicide attempt and placed on suicide watch.

Officials were investigating other scenarios, including a possible attack by another inmate or simply an effort by Epstein to win a transfer to another facility, according to multiple media reports. CNN, citing a source it did not name, said Epstein told authorities he was beaten up and called a child predator.

"Jeffrey Epstein is currently housed at MCC New York and not in a local hospital as has been reported," the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said in an emailed statement on Thursday. "As with all inmates, for privacy and security reasons, we do not share information on an inmate's medical status or their conditions of confinement."

Officials at the MCC did not respond to USA TODAY requests for information on the reported incident. Epstein lawyers Martin Weinberg, Reid Weingarten and Marc Fernich did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.

The MCC is located in lower Manhattan, between two of the federal courthouses for the Southern District of New York. Along with Epstein, recent criminal defendants held there have included convicted Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Detainees held at the MCC have complained in the past about living conditions in the facility, including the drinking water quality, rodent issues and access to fresh air.

Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, Mass., on Sept. 8, 2004.

Lisa Bloom, an attorney who represents some of Epstein's accusers, tweeted Thursday that her clients "don’t wish suicide upon anyone, not even a recidivist predator who has tricked and hurt so many women."

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Instead, the accusers want the financier "to stay alive to face the justice and accountability which is so long overdue. And it’s coming," Bloom tweeted.

The Epstein accusers I represent and I don’t wish suicide upon anyone, not even a recidivist predator who has tricked and hurt so many women. We want him to stay alive to face the justice and accountability which is so long overdue. And it’s coming. https://t.co/QFDhB3d7Sk — Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) July 25, 2019

Epstein, indicted this month on charges of sex trafficking and sex-trafficking conspiracy, has pleaded not guilty. The indictment alleged that Epstein "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes" in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, along with other locations from 2002-2005.

Lawyers for Epstein filed a notice of appeal this week signaling a challenge of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman's decision to keep him behind bars until his trial. Epstein had offered to post bail in excess of $100 million in hope of being permitted to remain under 24-hour armed guard in his luxury Manhattan mansion during the case.

The judge called the defense team's bail proposal "irretrievably inadequate" and said the safety of the community and individuals was his primary concern.

Berman said he focused in part on court declarations last week by Annie Farmer and Courtney Wild, young women who said they had been victimized by Epstein and feared what might happen if he were granted bail.

The indictment came 11 years after Epstein avoided what could have been a lengthy prison sentence when he pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution. That plea deal has drawn intense scrutiny and led then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta to resign as President Donald Trump's labor secretary.

Separately, L Brands, the Ohio-based fashion retailer whose flagship brands include Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, has hired an outside attorney to review any involvement Epstein may have had with the company's operations.

Epstein was long a close associate of Leslie Wexner, the billionaire founder, CEO and chairman of L Brands. However, spokespeople for Wexner said the business executive broke personal and financial ties with Epstein after the guilty plea in the Florida case.

"Mr. Epstein’s crimes are abhorrent, and we applaud every effort to bring justice to those harmed," L Brands said in a formal statement. "While Mr. Epstein served as Mr. Wexner’s personal money manager for a period that ended nearly 12 years ago, we do not believe he was ever employed by nor served as an authorized representative of the company. We take these matters seriously, and at the direction of the L Brands Board of Directors, have engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough review."

Bacon reported from McLean, Virginia; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jeffrey Epstein: Sex offender found injured in jail