Merlyn Hanks (1942 – 2020) was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse.

From obituary: “He loved the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was a devout student of the gospel and scriptures. He served a mission in the Western States Mission from 1961 to 1963.”

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Other Mormon sex abuse cases

    • John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
    • View report »
    • John Doe was an LDS church member in California; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church
    • View report »
    • Douglas Stoddard (1949 – ) was an LDS bishop in Hurst, Texas; convicted in 1992 of a felony child sexual abuse charge of indecency with a child by contact; sentenced to 8 years of probation; a lifetime registered sex offender in Texas; named publicly in August 2023 by a victim who said Stoddard molested him and three other boys in his Mormon ward while serving as bishop
    • View report »
    • Vernon Sanford was an LDS church member in San Diego, California; died in 2000; in 2024, accused in a civil lawsuit of child sexual abuse, along with his son, Vernon Sanford Jr; the suit was one of 91 or more coordinated civil suits filed in California in 2024 against the Mormon church; the alleged abuse occurred between 1961 and 1970; the Sanfords were the plaintiff's LDS home teachers
    • View report »
    • Jack Schofield (1923 – 2015) was an LDS church member, school administrator and state senator in Las Vegas, Nevada; accused of sexual harassment; died in 2015; a victim told FLOODLIT he sold her repeatedly to sex trafficking clients at a motel in Las Vegas
    • View report »

Sources

  1. FamilySearch listing, , October 3, 2025.

Documents

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Criminal case documents

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Civil case documents

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Other documents

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Timeline

  • 1942
    Born

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