Geraldo Maldonado Jr., a man convicted of raping a child, was found unresponsive in his cell at SCI Huntingdon on the morning of October 5 and later died at a nearby hospital. He was serving a 24- to 52-year prison sentence stemming from a 2023 Lancaster County conviction on 16 criminal counts tied to the repeated sexual abuse of multiple young children.
Prison staff discovered Maldonado unresponsive and attempted life-saving measures at the scene before he was transferred to Penn Highlands Hospital in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at 1:44 a.m. on October 6, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. As reported by WKRC, Maldonado was 43 years old. His next of kin has been notified, and the Huntingdon County Coroner's Office will determine the official cause of death.
State Police and Coroner Share Jurisdiction
In Maldonado's case, Pennsylvania State Police are investigating alongside an inquiry by the local county coroner. The Huntingdon County Coroner's Office will determine the official cause of death, while state police examine the surrounding circumstances, according to the department's statement.
Maldonado's case involved abuse that took place in 2008, and investigators found a journal containing written details about it. A sexual-offense report was made in August 2021, and detectives from Lancaster City Police and Columbia Borough Police investigated a case involving three victims, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
Conviction Followed a Four-Day Trial
A Lancaster County jury convicted Maldonado in May 2023 on 16 criminal counts, including rape of a child, aggravated indecent assault, incest, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, and endangering the welfare of children. The jury reached its verdict after deliberating for just 50 minutes following a four-day trial in Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas, per the same office's account.
Maldonado was formally sentenced in July 2023 in Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas to 24 to 52 years in state prison and was ordered to register as a lifetime sex offender. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Ponessa prosecuted the case, in which Maldonado had faced a maximum potential penalty of up to 176 years, according to WPMT FOX43.
Inside Pennsylvania's Oldest Operating Prison
SCI Huntingdon, where Maldonado was housed, opened in 1889 and is Pennsylvania's oldest state correctional facility in continuous operation. It originally served as a reformatory for young offenders and now functions as a close-security facility for adult men, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
As of late 2025, the prison held 1,854 male inmates against a public capacity of 2,306, putting it at roughly 80.4% capacity, per Wikipedia. The facility still retains historic open-bar cellblocks dating to the late 19th century, with cellblocks A through F using traditional open-bar fronts for air circulation, while an internal medical department provides general primary care, dental care, and mental health services to inmates, the Prison Journalism Project notes.
Maldonado's death is not the first reported in-custody death at SCI Huntingdon. Convicted child murderer Henry Stubbs III also died after being found unresponsive in his cell, according to WTAJ. The Huntingdon County Coroner's Office will determine the official cause of death in Maldonado's case.
