A Lewes man serving a 26-year sentence for child sex crimes died Jan. 15 in a Wilmington prison, officials say.

Steven P. Copp, 52, was an inmate at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, where he was committed in 2020 for sexual exploitation of a child and unlawful sexual contact, said Jason Miller, chief of communications for the Department of Correction.

Correctional officers conducted a routine check at 4:38 a.m. of Copp’s housing unit when they found him unresponsive in his cell, Miller said.  A medical alert was issued and lifesaving measures were immediately initiated, he said. Emergency Medical Services Paramedics arrived and continued lifesaving measures, but Copp was pronounced dead at 5 a.m. by New Castle County Paramedics, Miller said. 

Delaware State Police were contacted to conduct an independent death investigation; Copp’s body was turned over to the Division of Forensic Science to determine cause of death, Miller said.