Man Charged With 865 Counts of Child Rape Found Dead in Prison Cell

I know stories about street justice, er prison justice, make you guys happier than a camel on hump day, especially when the perp on the receiving end is a well-deserving child molester, animal or spousal abuser, or person who hurts kids or elderly in any way. So this story will absolutely make your day a little better if you’re one of those “guys.”

Bloom Charged With 865 Counts of Child Rape

Garrick Landon Bloom, a 48-year-old Tallahassee pervert facing 865 counts of child rape, was captured by Florida police at a local homeless shelter in 2019 after a young boy reported that he had sexually abused him for years. The abuse began when the 11-year-old boy was 5-years-old. Police searched for him for more than one month before locating him in Florida. He had fled from Pennsylvania when he learned that the victim reported the abuse to police.

Yes, read that slowly and let it sink in: eight-hundred, sixty-five counts of child rape. Those charges included 120 counts of statutory sexual assault of a child 11 years or older, 96 counts of statutory sexual assault, and aggravated indecent assault of a child.

Bloom Faced 15,000 Years In Prison

He faced 15,000 years in prison if convicted of all the charges. Bloom was a pervert but not stupid so when prosecutors offered him a 40 to 80- year sentence, he quickly accepted. He pleaded guilty to only five counts of rape of a child. The state dismissed the remaining charges against Bloom. Bloom was eligible for parole after serving 96-months of his sentence -or about eight years for those of you bad at math like me.

Everyone knows -even prison inmates- that sex offenders seem to be the first-paroled inmates in any penal institution under the false guise that recidivism rates amongst sex offenders are lower than other criminal groups. (Click that link for more information about recidivism.)

Since most will not click the link, here’s the most important information:

Recidivism Rates Are Not True Reoffense Rates

Recidivism rates are typically based on officially recorded information, such as an arrest, criminal conviction or incarceration. Because these official statistics reflect only offenses that come to the attention of authorities, they are a diluted measure of reoffending. Research has clearly demonstrated that many sex offenses are never reported to authorities. For example, Bachman (1998) found that only about one in four rapes or sexual assaults were reported to police. More recently, Tjaden and Thoennes (2006) found that only 19 percent of women and 13 percent of men who were raped since their 18th birthday reported the rape to the police. Several studies of victims have shown that the likelihood that a sexual assault will be reported to law enforcement decreases with the victim's age (Kilpatrick, Saunders & Smith, 2003; Sorenson & Snow, 1991)

It is also important to recognize that, once reported to law enforcement, only a subset of sex offenses result in the arrest of the perpetrator. Grotpeter and Elliot (2002) found that only 2.5 percent of sexual assaults and 10 percent of serious sexual assaults resulted in an arrest and Snyder (2000) found that an arrest was made in only 29 percent of reported juvenile sexual assaults. In addition, a number of studies have found that sex offenders disclose in treatment or in surveys that they had committed a large number of sex crimes before they were first caught or arrested. Abel and his colleagues interviewed paraphiliacs (i.e., those with a diagnosed psychosexual disorder) under conditions of guaranteed confidentiality and found that only 3.3 percent of their self-admitted hands-on sex offenses, such as rape and child molestation, resulted in an arrest (Abel et al., 1988). Simons, Heil and English (2004) found that only 5 percent of rapes and child sexual assaults self-reported during prison treatment were identified in official records. Likewise, another study found that only 1 percent of contact and noncontact sexual offenses self-reported during treatment were identified in official records (Ahlmeyer et al., 2000).

Inmates Learn About Bloom's Convictions

Fellow inmates at the Pennsylvania prison where Bloom served his time got wind of the convictions against Bloom a few months into the sentence. Prison guards found him unresponsive in his cell about 11 p.m. on August 28, 2020. Medical personnel declared Bloom dead on arrival at the correctional facility.

The Pennsylvania State Police Barracks at Clearfield investigated the death and determined Bloom died by ligature strangulation. The death was a homicide. Thus far, the inmate responsible for the murder hasn't been identified.

I’m not someone who wishes death on anyone. My heart of hearts tells me that it brings bad juju. But, I do believe in karma and always consider cases like this to be just that or maybe even “Live by the sword, die by the sword.”

Additional Information & Resources:

https://www.theprogressnews.com/progress_news/former-curwensville-man-killed-at-sci-houtzdale/article_97cb1a0f-7dde-5033-b740-6b2d5ec1bc33.html

https://www.exploreclarion.com/2019/09/11/breaking-news-child-rapist-gets-up-to-80-years-in-state-prison/

https://www.exploreclarion.com/2019/02/05/complaint-garrick-bloom-child-rape-11619/