Rockview state prison inmate dead, marking third death at the prison in two months

A Rockview state prison inmate died Thursday, marking at least the third death at the prison since March.

Jamie E. Houseknecht, 43, was unresponsive in his cell Saturday. He was transported to Mount Nittany Medical Center, where he died Thursday, Rockview state prison Superintendent Bobbi Jo Salamon said in a statement.

His death is being investigated by state police at Rockview, as required by state policy.

Houseknecht was serving a 12- to 24-year state prison sentence. He pleaded guilty in April 2004 to one felony count each of aggravated indecent assault and attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, as well as one misdemeanor.

He hid in a public women’s bathroom in Berks County and waited for an unaccompanied child to enter. He forcibly restrained an 8-year-old girl and her 3-year-old brother, threatened them and assaulted the girl. The attack ended when their father looked for them.

Houseknecht’s minimum sentence was completed in January 2016. He was denied parole each of the three times he applied. Houseknecht’s most recent rejection from the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole came in June 2018.

His minimization of the crimes and a lack of remorse were among the reasons he was denied, the board wrote. Berks County prosecutors also recommended that he not be released.

Houseknecht, who was incarcerated at Rockview since May 2010, was set to be interviewed by the board in June. His death is the latest in a spate of — at minimum — injuries at the two state prisons in Centre County.

Two Rockview state prison inmates died in March. One was serving a 16- to 32-year sentence for rape, while the other was serving a two- to 10-year sentence for retaliation against a witness.

The cause and manner of death for each, including Houseknecht, is pending, Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers said Thursday. Autopsy reports for the inmates who died in March have not yet been returned.

At least three staff members who worked at either Rockview or Benner state prison were assaulted by inmates since January. Two workers at Benner were treated for minor injuries, while a Rockview corrections officer was seriously injured.

A man serving a lengthy sentence was charged with aggravated assault in the attack of the Rockview corrections officer. Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association President John Eckenrode described the assaults in March as “appalling.”