SHIPPENVILLE, Pa. (EYT) — A Shippenville man accused of multiple counts of child rape waived his preliminary hearing in court yesterday.
According to court documents, the following charges against 46-year-old Garrick Landon Bloom, of Shippenville, were waived for court on Tuesday, March 12:
- Rape of a Child, Felony 1 (216 counts)
- Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse with a Child, Felony 1 (216 counts)
- Aggravated Indecent Assault of Child, Felony 1 (216 counts)
- Statutory Sexual Assault: 11 Years Older, Felony 1 (120 counts)
- Statutory Sexual Assault, Felony 2 (96 counts)
- Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Felony 3
The charges have been transferred to the Clarion County Court of Common Pleas.
Bloom remains lodged in the Clarion County Jail on $100,000.00 bail.
Details of the case:
According to a criminal complaint, Clarion County Children and Youth Services reported to Clarion-based State Police on October 25, 2018, that a known juvenile male was being sexually assaulted by Bloom.
The criminal complaint states that the victim told investigators that he was forced to perform oral sex on Bloom on numerous occasions.
Court records indicate that Bloom began to “groom” the victim when he was five years old and continued to sexually assault him for several years.
The criminal complaint states that Bloom first denied committing the crimes; however, he later admitted to sexually assaulting the boy.
Clarion-based State Police Trooper Norbert filed the charges against Bloom on January 16, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. State police issued a number of bulletins seeking information on Bloom’s whereabouts throughout the latter part of January.
Investigators say after working in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police Fugitive Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service, police learned of Bloom’s “traveling methods” and found that he traveled to Florida.
Bloom was finally apprehended by U.S. Marshals around 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 7, in Tallahassee, Florida. He was located in a homeless shelter in Tallahassee where he was taken into custody and lodged at the Leon County Jail in Tallahassee.
According to a representative of the Clarion County Sheriff’s Office, Bloom arrived at the Clarion County Jail between 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6, after being transported by a contracted transportation service, Inmate Services of West Memphis, Arkansas.
EDITOR’S NOTE 1: Extreme graphic details were not included due to the sexual nature of the alleged crimes.
EDITOR’S NOTE 2: Several details were removed from this article to help protect the identity of the victim.
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