Investigators Eye Cellmate After Pedophile Found Dead in California Prison

A child molester was found dead early Friday in his cell at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California.

Officials found the inmate, identified as 48-year-old Robert E. Cole, unresponsive in his cell where he was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole, the New York Post reported on Monday.

He was declared dead a few minutes after officers tried to revive him. The Post article noted Cole had been a volleyball coach and was arrested along with his twin brother.

The Amador County Coroner has not yet determined the cause of the child molester’s death, but officials are investigating the case as a homicide.

In a press release on Friday, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said, “Cole’s cellmate, Justin P. Welsh, has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the MCSP Investigative Services Unit and the Amador County District Attorney’s Office.”

Images show the now dead child molester and his cellmate:

The agency then detailed Cole’s and Welsh’s criminal histories:

Cole, 48, was received from Placer County on Aug. 8, 2019. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for adult engaging in sex/sodomy with a child 10 years old or younger, adult engaging in oral copulation/penetration with a child 10 years of younger, lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old, oral copulation with force/violence/fear with a child under 14 years old, oral copulation with an unconscious victim, attempted sodomy with a victim under 18 years old, and attempted oral copulation with a victim under 16 years old and the subject over 21 years old.

Welsh, 36, was received from San Bernardino County on May 19, 2023. He was sentenced to 18 years for corporal injury on a person within seven years of a prior conviction and assault with a firearm, both second-strike offenses, with enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury involving domestic violence and prior felony conviction of a serious offense.

Regarding child sexual abuse, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network’s (RAINN) website says,

A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity, period. When a perpetrator engages with a child this way, they are committing a crime that can have lasting effects on the victim for years.

The majority of perpetrators are someone the child or family knows. As many as 93 percent of victims under the age of 18 know the abuser. A perpetrator does not have to be an adult to harm a child. They can have any relationship to the child including an older sibling or playmate, family member, a teacher, a coach or instructor, a caretaker, or the parent of another child.

The news about Cole’s demise comes after a convicted murderer was accused of killing his wife during a conjugal visit in November at Mule Creek State Prison, Breitbart News reported in March.