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A Grand Valley man has been charged with three first-degree felonies, including rape of a child, by the State Police at Warren.
Robert L. Bloom, 40, was charged first-degree rape of a child, first-degree statutory sexual assault – 11 years older, first-degree felony involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, two counts of third-degree felony corruption of minors – defendant age 18 or above, third-degree felony indecent assault person less than 13 years of age, misdemeanor indecent assault person less than 13 years of age and misdemeanor indecent exposure. Charges were filed Monday, according to online court docket information, after alleged incidents that took place in Eldred Township. Bloom was arraigned Tuesday morning, with bail set at $100,000. A preliminary hearing will be held Aug. 19.
Bloom was sentenced to between 19 months and five years in state prison in 2019 after pleading guilty to a charge of indecent exposure. Judge Gregory Hammond said at the time that Bloom’s prior record — which includes setting fires, theft and exposing himself previously — has left him a “significant danger to the community” since he was 13-years-old. He handed down an aggravated sentence in 2019, citing the age of the victim, that also included a no-contact order with the victim or the victim’s family, sex offender’s counseling, a mental health evaluation and any recommended treatment and to have no unsupervised contact with minors once released.
Bloom's attorney in the 2019 case asked for a county prison sentence because Bloom had struggled with mental health issues in the past and struggled to get such help in jail.
“Seven years old,” said former county District Attorney Rob Greene during the sentencing for the 2019 case. “That’s how old the victim was in this case. You don’t expose (yourself) to a seven-year-old girl,” Greene said, whether for sexual gratification or “whatever the heck he was thinking.”
Bloom is not listed on the state Megan's Law website. Under Pennsylvania law, a standard conviction for indecent exposure does not require registration under Megan’s Law or the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), though courts can sometimes impose registration requirements depending on the circumstances of the case or if the charge is part of a plea deal involving other registrable offenses. registration obligations might change.
A conviction for charge of first-degree rape of a child under the age of 13 can be punished by a maximum of 40 years in state prison. A first-degree felony conviction for statutory sexual assault carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years and a fine of up to $25,000 and a conviction of first-degree felony involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child under 13 can result in a punishment of maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison.