A former doctor who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing four young girls and possessing child pornography will spend at least 23 years in prison for his crimes.
Alaska Superior Court Judge Jack Smith sentenced 69-year-old Clifford Merchant in Anchorage Friday. Smith gave Merchant 51 years in prison with eight suspended. Smith also specified Merchant must spend at least 23 years in prison before he can be eligible for parole. Merchant will be more than 90 years old by that time.
The case dates back to July 2014, when the Alaska State Troopers’ Child Abuse Investigation Unit learned a 12-year-old had been “touched inappropriately” by Merchant, then 67, at his property in the Valley.
Further investigation revealed three other victims, all under the age of 13. The abuse started in 2001 and spanned more than a decade. The victims were as young as 7 years old, according to troopers. Charging documents showed Merchant performed sex acts on the girls and forced them to perform sex acts on him. In court Friday, testimony revealed Merchant used child pornography to convince his victims what they were doing was normal.
After his original arrest, Merchant made bail. He then attempted to hire a hit man to kill two of his victims who were living out of state. That led to an additional charge of violating the terms of his release. The hit man, identified in charging documents as “The Bull,” was working as an informant for the FBI at the time. According to court testimony, Merchant called off the hit.
Merchant pleaded guilty to three charges in April — one count each of violating probation, first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and first-degree possession of child pornography. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed the rest of the 34 charges against Merchant in the case.
In a victim impact statement, the relative of one of the girls called the damage Merchant did to her family “so wide and so vast.” She said she was satisfied with the sentence.
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