A Port Allegany man died Monday after being found unresponsive in his cell at State Correctional Institution at Huntington, where he was serving at least six years for a sex offense.

Inmate Gage Ortiz-Rodriguez, 24, was found unresponsive on Monday, according to John Rivello, superintendent of SCI Huntingdon.

“Prison staff and medical personnel immediately responded and provided life-saving measures. EMS arrived and advanced life support measures were continued as he was transferred to Penn Highlands Hospital, where he passed away at 1 p.m.,” a statement from the prison read.

He had been at the prison since June 24, 2021.

Prison officials did not release any information regarding a cause of death, but said, “In accordance with state policy, Pennsylvania State Police were notified and will conduct an investigation. The official cause of death will be determined by the Huntingdon County Coroner’s Office.”

Ortiz-Rodriguez was serving a sentence of 6 to 12 years for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. He had been classified as a sexually violent predator, a fact that he challenged, and lost, on appeal.

Ortiz-Rodriguez had pleaded guilty in 2020 to two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, four counts of sexual abuse of children, one count of indecent assault and one count of criminal solicitation to commit sexual assault.

He was ordered to undergo a sexually violent predator assessment, in which an investigator and a social worker for the Sexual Offender Assessment Board both concluded that he was a predator.

In February of 2021, he was sentenced to 6 to 12 years in state prison, followed by four years of probation.

Through his attorney, Phil Clabaugh, Ortiz-Rodriquez filed an appeal, challenging the predator designation. He asked the Superior Court to find that the McKean County judge erred or abused its discretion relating to the hearing and the court’s findings where the court found Ortiz-Rodriquez met the definition of sexually violent predator. The Superior Court denied his appeal and upheld the designation.

According to the criminal complaints filed at the time of his arrest, between 2015 and 2019, in Port Allegany Borough and Annin Township, Ortiz-Rodriquez had sexual contact with juvenile males and directed the juveniles to take off their clothes and engage in sexual activity while he took photographs. The complaints indicated there were at least two victims.