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Some school districts in the U.S. dropped plans for class pictures after widespread social media posts linked a billionaire with ties to\u00a0Jeffrey Epstein\u00a0to the photography giant Lifetouch, which on Friday called the claims \u201ccompletely false.\u201d<\/p>\n
The disruption to school picture plans in Texas and elsewhere began after online posts linked Lifetouch, which photographs millions of students each year, to the investment fund manager Apollo Global Management. Apollo\u2019s former CEO is billionaire investor Leon Black, who met regularly with Epstein and was advised by Epstein on financial matters.<\/p>\n
Black led the company in 2019, when funds managed by Apollo bought Lifetouch\u2019s parent company, Shutterfly. The $2.7 billion deal closed in September 2019 \u2014 a month after Epstein\u2019s death by suicide behind bars as he awaited trial over allegations from federal prosecutors that he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of girls.<\/p>\n
Both Lifetouch and Apollo noted that timeline in statements Friday, two days after Lifetouch CEO Ken Murphy said in an Instagram post that neither Black nor any of Apollo\u2019s directors or investors ever had any access to Lifetouch photos.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo Lifetouch executives have ever had any relationship or contact with Epstein and we have never shared student images with any third party, including Apollo,\u201d Lifetouch said in its statement Friday. \u201cApollo and its funds also have no role in Lifetouch\u2019s daily operations and have no access to student images.\u201d<\/p>\n
The canceled school pictures are another ripple effect over the release of millions of files from the Epstein investigation, including documents showing Epstein\u2019s regular contacts with CEOs, journalists, scientists and prominent politicians long after a 2008 conviction on sex crimes charges.<\/p>\n
In the small Texas town of Malakoff, the local school district canceled a student picture day after several parents told the district they weren\u2019t comfortable with Lifetouch photographing their children, spokesperson Katherine Smith said in a statement e-mailed Friday. Several other schools and districts in Texas also canceled or changed plans, as well as a charter school in Arizona, according to Facebook announcements posted by the schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided our students and families would be best served by keeping all of our pictures in-house for the rest of this year, and we are looking at all of our options for the 2026-2027 school year,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Parents concerned about Lifetouch included MaKallie Gann, whose children attend schools in Howe, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Dallas. She said she was worried about how much information Lifetouch collects on students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever you order the pictures, it has their name. It has the age, of course. It has their grade, their teacher, the school that they\u2019re in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
No evidence of Epstein or anyone in his orbit seeing Lifetouch photos has emerged from news organizations\u2019 review of\u00a0thousands of documents released this month\u00a0by the U.S. Department of Justice, though there are at least 1.7 million records.<\/p>\n
The review shows Black\u2019s name appeared 8,200 times, though that figure likely includes some duplicate records.\u00a0Black stepped down\u00a0as Apollo\u2019s CEO in March 2021, saying he wanted to focus on his family, health, and \u201cmany other interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was two months after a committee of the company\u2019s board\u00a0issued a report\u00a0concluding that Epstein had advised Black personally on estate planning, tax issues, charitable giving and running his \u201cfamily office,\u201d but provided no services to Apollo or invested in no Apollo funds.<\/p>\n
The report also said the review \u2014 which Black requested \u2014 found \u201cno evidence\u201d that he was involved with Epstein\u2019s alleged criminal activities \u201cin any way\u201d or \u201cat any time.\u201d <\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. Also contributing was Associated Press writer Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Gen #latest #revolt #Jeffrey #Epstein #pointing #connection #company #takes #class #photos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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