Shippenville Man Pleads Guilty to Child Rape

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published August 16, 2019 4:35 am
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — A Shippenville man charged with multiple child sex crimes entered a guilty plea on several counts on Wednesday, August 15.

Garrick Landon Bloom, 47, entered a guilty plea on five first-degree felony counts of rape of a child.

As a result of the plea agreement, the following charges were dismissed:

  • Rape of a Child, Felony 1 (211 counts)
  • Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse with a Child, Felony 1 (216 counts)
  • Aggravated Indecent Assault of Child, Felony 1 (216 counts)
  • Statutory Sexual Assault, Felony 2 (216 counts)
  • Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Felony 3

Bloom remains lodged in the Clarion County Jail on $100,000.00 monetary bail.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, September 11, at 9:00 a.m. with President Judge James G. Arner presiding.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, Clarion County Children and Youth Services (CYS) reported to Clarion-based State Police on October 25, 2018, a known juvenile male was being sexually assaulted by Bloom.

The criminal complaint stated that the victim told investigators 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.

Bloom first denied committing the crimes; however, he later admitted to sexually assaulting the boy, the complaint states.

A warrant was issued for Bloom’s arrest on January 16.

Investigators said 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 located in a homeless shelter in Tallahassee and taken into custody on February 7. He was then extradited back to Clarion County.

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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