From staff reports
A Shippenville man serving a sentence at the state prison in Houtzdale on rape charges was found dead in his cell.
Houtzdale Superintendent Barry Smith said in a press release that Garrick Bloom, 48, died Aug. 29. He was found unresponsive in his cell at about 11 p.m. that evening, the press release said.
Officers and medical staff immediately responded to the scene to administer life saving measures to no avail, and when EMS personnel responded to the facility they declared Bloom dead, the release said.
Bloom pleaded guilty in August 2019 in Clarion County court to five counts of rape of a child. He had originally been charged with 865 felony counts in the case including 216 counts each of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child and statutory sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
He was sentenced in September 2019 to serve 40 to 80 years in state prison, and he had been at Houtzdale since Dec. 5, 2019.
The boy told police the assaults began when he was five years old and continued for several years.
Bloom initially denied committing the crimes but later admitted to sexually assaulting the boy.
A warrant was issued for Bloom’s arrest on Jan. 16, 2019, but he fled Clarion County. He was located in a homeless shelter in Tallahassee, Florida, and was taken into custody Feb. 7, 2019.
