UPDATED: Framingham Man Commits Suicide at Essex County Jail

A Framingham man, who was facing federal sex charges, died Sunday in an apparent suicide, according to the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.

Steven Orloff, 49, of Framingham died of an “hanging.”

Corrections officers were conducting a count of inmates late Sunday morning, and discovered Orloff was not in his bed, they searched for him, and found him hanging in the shower at 11:45 a.m, reported the Salem Evening News.

Corrections officers tried to save Orloff, reported the newspaper. He was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m. Monday at Beverly Hospital, according to the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.

Orloff has been at the Essex County Jail in Middleton since December 2013.

The Framingham man was the Stoneham Public Schools director of students services, until placed on leave following his arrest in December 2012. Formerly, he was Arlington Public Schools assistant director of special education.

According to authorities, Orloff began corresponding online with a 15-year-old female from Maine. The defendant told the victim he was a 14-year-old boy and they exchanged photos, though the defendant did not send an actual photo of himself. The victim and the defendant continued to chat online and the victim sent the defendant illicit photos of herself.

Photo: Steven Orloff. Credit: Framingham Police.