School districts in the Houston area and Texas are facing scrutiny over their apparent use of Lifetouch, a student photography service linked to Jeffrey\u00a0Epstein, as districts nationwide are severing ties with the company.<\/p>\n
Lifetouch is used by districts for photo-focused events, such as picture days. Its connection to the billionaire child sex offender\u00a0is through Apollo Global Management<\/a>, an investment fund management firm in the U.S., and its former CEO, Leon Black, who the AP reports<\/a> was a former financial adviser to\u00a0Epstein.<\/p>\n School districts across the U.S have dropped\u00a0Lifetouch from its list of services after reports of its connection to\u00a0Epstein.<\/a><\/p>\n In the Houston area, schools including Stehlik Elementary<\/a>\u00a0in Aldine ISD, Klein High School <\/a>in Klein ISD and Shadow Forest Elementary School<\/a> in Humble\u00a0ISD, refer to\u00a0Lifetouch on their websites related to student picture days.<\/p>\n GALVESTON DOCTOR WALKS AMID EPSTEIN LINK: Galveston menopause doctor walks away from CBS spot over\u00a0Attia-Epstein scandal<\/a><\/p>\n Lifetouch posted a statement on Instagram maintaining that neither Black or\u00a0Epstein had access to school photos, saying, “Lifetouch is not named in the Epstein files. The documents contain no allegations that Lifetouch itself was involved in, or that student photos were used in, any illicit activities.”<\/p>\n Still, the company’s connection to Epstein has roiled some. Cameron\u00a0Rollwitz, a Democratic in the race for Texas Senate District 11 south of Houston reacted to a post<\/a> about Klein ISD and its use of the service.<\/p>\n “Oh my god I graduated from kleinISD and it was lifetouch the entire time,” Rollwitz wrote.<\/p>\n Amid the pushback<\/a> on social media, at least two petitions<\/a> have begun calling for local districts to drop\u00a0Lifetouch and ban its use in Texas and nationwide.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, available Justice Department files\u00a0have raised questions over Black’s relationship with\u00a0Epstein.\u00a0Black has been\u00a0publicly accused<\/a>\u00a0of sexual assault three times, with one of those incidents\u00a0allegedly<\/a>\u00a0taking place\u00a0within Epstein’s home.<\/p>\n Black has denied all allegations of misconduct and has since sought to downplay connections to Epstein.<\/p>\n Epstein\u00a0killed himself in his New York jail cell in 2019 before facing trial.<\/p>\n