A former Kenai church leader accused of sexually abusing or assaulting multiple underage girls died in Alaska Department of Corrections custody last week.
Alaska State Troopers say 45-year-old Aaron “Scott” Merritt was found unresponsive in his cell at the Anchorage Correctional Complex on Nov. 21 and was pronounced dead five days later. Troopers say a preliminary investigation determined Merritt had self-inflicted injuries. His death came less than a month after he was taken into custody.
A Kenai Grand Jury indicted Merritt on 20 felony counts of sexual assault and abuse of a minor in late October. Last month, Merritt pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The charges came more than two decades after the Kenai Police Department first investigated an allegation against Merritt. Prosecutors did not charge him at the time, but the department reopened its investigation in 2021 after receiving more abuse allegations and new information.
Prosecutors alleged Merritt abused four girls between 1998 and 2002 while they attended the former Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Kenai, where Merritt was a ministerial servant. According to the state law department, the girls Merritt is accused of abusing ranged in age from 5 to 14 years old.
One of those girls was Jerikah Hall Santiago. KDLL does not name victims of sexual abuse or assault, but Santiago gave permission to use her name.
Santiago is an adult now, living in Florida with her husband and kids. She says Merritt, who she knew as “Scotty,” began abusing her when she was 11 years old. Her family had moved from the Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Soldotna to the one in Kenai, where her grandfather was an elder.
Santiago says she already knew who Merritt was when her family moved to the Kenai Kingdom Hall – Kenai is a small town, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses community, she says, is even smaller. When Merritt started sitting next to her in the Kingdom Hall, Santiago says she thought the attention from an older member was flattering.
“Then it got uncomfortable, and then things progressed to where this doesn't feel right,” she said. “This feels, you know, uncomfortable is the best way that I can put it. And that went on for a while. That went on for a few months.”
Then, Santiago says an adult witnessed Merritt abusing her. The incident was reported to the congregation’s elders, which she says functioned like a nonprofit board of directors.
“My grandfather pulled me aside and asked me questions about what had happened,” she said. “And he told me to be quiet about it. He told me, ‘We don't talk about this. If we talk about this, it brings reproach against Jehovah, and that's not something we do.’”
Santiago says she realized when she was older, around 15 or 16 years old, that what she experienced was abuse. Other than a few friends, she says she never reported it to law enforcement. She feared that no one would believe her or that she would be “de-fellowshipped” – that is, removed from the congregation.
Then, she got a Facebook message earlier this year, asking if she was aware law enforcement were investigating Merritt. She wasn’t and didn’t know that another congregation member had made an allegation against him decades earlier. Santiago said she was ready to speak out.
“I found strength in the fact that others were wanting to share their stories, and I was very much longing for the day to share mine,” she said. “I wanted to be in a courtroom with him. I wanted to share what happened with me. I wanted to prove that what he did back then didn't break me.”
The Alaska Department of Law said Tuesday that Merritt’s criminal case will be dismissed as a result of his death.
Santiago said she learned Merritt died in custody through a story in the Anchorage Daily News. She wishes law enforcement had contacted her and the other women in the case before publishing the information.
A Department of Corrections spokesperson declined to answer questions Monday about Merritt’s death, including why Merritt was being held in Anchorage instead of Kenai or what type of inmate surveillance the department uses at the Anchorage facility.
According to DOC press releases, Merritt is the 17th inmate to die in state custody this year, an increase from last year’s total. Merritt’s death also brings the statewide total to just under Alaska’s all-time high of 18 inmate deaths in a year, reported in 2022. Of those, about 40% were the result of suicide. That was also a state record.
The department has faced scrutiny for the high number of deaths, which prompted an investigation and lawsuit by the Alaska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Earlier this year, the department told state lawmakers that staff were taking steps to mitigate inmate deaths, including adding more cameras to facilities, setting up jump barriers and installing larger windows.
Santiago says Merritt’s actions permanently changed her life. She hasn’t been back to Kenai since moving away, and learning about the case earlier this year prompted her to tell her parents the full story of what happened. She says she’s not sure what closure looks like now, but she’s thought about visiting Kenai.
The old Kenai Kingdom Hall on Kiana Lane isn’t a church building anymore, but Santiago says it still holds significance to her. She also wants to shake hands with the case investigators, who she says finally made her feel heard.
