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{{Short description|American assistant attorney and child molester}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = John David Roy Atchison
| name = John David Roy Atchison
| image = John David R Atchison booking.jpg
| image = John David R Atchison booking.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| caption = Booking photo of Atchison taken by the [[Macomb County, Michigan|Macomb County]] Sheriff's department
| caption = Booking photo of Atchison taken by the [[Macomb County, Michigan|Macomb County]] Sheriff's Department
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1954|8|28}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1954|8|28}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2007|10|5|1954|8|28}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2007|10|5|1954|8|28}}
| death_place = [[Milan, Michigan]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Milan, Michigan]], U.S.
⚫
| occupation = Prosecutor<br>Assistant US Attorney
| death_cause = Suicide by hanging
| nationality = American
| other_names = J D "Roy" Atchison <br> J.D. Roy Atchison <br> Roy Atchison <br> John D. Atchison
⚫
| occupation = Prosecutor <br> Attorney
| party = Republican
| years_active =
| years_active =
| alma_mater =[[University of Florida]]<br>[[Cumberland Law School]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Florida]]<br>[[Cumberland Law School]]
| known_for = Arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with a 5-year-old girl; suicide by hanging in prison
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
}}


'''John David Roy Atchison''' (August 28, 1954 – October 5, 2007) was an assistant [[U.S. Attorney]] in [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida|Florida's northern district]] who gained notoriety when he was arrested for suspicion of soliciting sex from a 5-year-old girl.
'''John David Roy Atchison''' (August 28, 1954 – October 5, 2007) was an American [[assistant U.S. Attorney]] in [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida|Florida's northern district]] who was arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with a 5-year-old girl. He was also a volunteer coach for girls' softball and basketball teams, and president of a youth sports association. He was arrested in a [[sex sting]] operation, and charged with "enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity using the Internet", "aggravated sexual abuse," and "traveling across state lines to have sex with someone under the age of 12". Atchison committed [[suicide by hanging]] himself in his prison cell in [[Milan, Michigan]], three weeks later.


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Atchison was born in 1954 and held a bachelor's degree from the [[University of Florida]] and a law degree from [[Cumberland Law School]] at [[Samford University]] in Birmingham, Alabama.
Atchison earned a bachelor's degree from the [[University of Florida]], and a [[Juris Doctor]] degree from [[Samford University]] [[Cumberland Law School]] in [[Birmingham, Alabama]].<ref name=ga/> Early on, he lived in [[Pensacola, Florida]].<ref name=ga/>


==Career==
==Career==
Atchison was admitted to the [[The Florida Bar|Florida Bar]] in June 1984<ref>{{cite web | title =John David Roy Atchison | url = http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/All/5ED9B953024FABFD85256A830080B8C4?OpenDocument}}</ref> and the [[State Bar of Georgia|Georgia Bar]] in June 1985.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mr. John D Atchison |url=http://www.gabar.org/directories/member_directory_search/member_detail/?id=MDI2Mjgw |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510001854/http://www.gabar.org/directories/member_directory_search/member_detail/?id=MDI2Mjgw |archive-date=May 10, 2007 }}</ref> He worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in [[Pensacola, Florida]],<ref name=BunkleyNYT /> working on tax and financial crime cases.<ref name=Fed/> he was a member of the Republican Party.<ref>[https://www.nndb.com/people/114/000162625/]</ref>
Atchison was admitted to the [[The Florida Bar|Florida Bar]] in June 1984,<ref>{{cite web | title =John David Roy Atchison |website =floridabar.org| url = http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/All/5ED9B953024FABFD85256A830080B8C4?OpenDocument}}</ref> and to the [[State Bar of Georgia|Georgia Bar]] in June 1985.<ref name=ga>{{cite web|title=Mr. John D Atchison|website=gabar.org |url=http://www.gabar.org/directories/member_directory_search/member_detail/?id=MDI2Mjgw |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510001854/http://www.gabar.org/directories/member_directory_search/member_detail/?id=MDI2Mjgw |archive-date=May 10, 2007 }}</ref> He worked as an Assistant [[United States Attorney]] federal prosecutor in the [[U.S. Attorney's Office]] in [[Pensacola, Florida]], in northern Florida, working primarily on tax and financial crime cases.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21158295|title=Fla. prosecutor charged in sex sting kills self|website=NBC News|date=6 October 2007 }}</ref><ref name=BunkleyNYT /><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/us/06suicide.html|title=U.S. Prosecutor Held in a Child Sex Sting Kills Himself|first=Abby|last=Goodnough|date=October 6, 2007|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name=Fed/>


He was also a volunteer coach for girls’ softball and basketball teams in his hometown of [[Gulf Breeze, Florida]], and president of a youth sports association there, the Gulf Breeze Athletic Association. In the association, girls as young as 4 could participate in a soccer program, and its programs included cheerleading, basketball, football, soccer, and softball.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/u-s-prosecutor-accused-of-seeking-sex-with-girl-5|title=U.S. Prosecutor Accused of Seeking Sex With Girl, 5|date=March 25, 2015|website=Fox News}}</ref><ref name=BunkleyNYT/><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoaklandpress.com/news/federal-prosecutor-accused-in-child-sex-sting-attempts-suicide/article_c3542d49-d3e9-52b6-8cf7-0a00f96be6c4.html|title=Federal prosecutor accused in child sex sting attempts suicide|date=September 20, 2007|work=The Oakland Press}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/prosecutor-accused-of-traveling-to-have-sex-with-child-attempts-suicide/83-402385713|title=Prosecutor Accused Of Traveling To Have Sex With Child Attempts Suicide|website=wfmynews2.com|date=20 September 2007 }}</ref>
==Legal issues and death==
On September 16, 2007, Atchison was arrested at the [[Detroit Metropolitan Airport]] in a sex crime sting operation undertaken by the FBI and [[Macomb County, Michigan|Macomb County]]. He was charged with "enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity using the Internet", "aggravated sexual abuse" and "traveling across state lines to have sex with someone under the age of 12".<ref name="Httpwwwclickondetroitcomnewsdetailhtml">http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14132485/detail.html {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117032928/http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14132485/detail.html|date=January 17, 2010}}</ref> At the time of his arrest, he was carrying presents for his intended victim, including a doll and a pair of earrings. Also in his possession was a jar of [[petroleum jelly]]. Following his arrest, he tried to [[suicide|kill himself]] via hanging with a sheet in his jail cell on September 20, 2007. Atchison had been removed from a suicide watch the previous day after assuring his lawyer and a judge that he would not harm himself. He was not injured in the suicide attempt, which another inmate reported about 4 a.m.<ref name=BunkleyNYT>{{cite news | last = Bunkley| first = Nick| title =Prosecutor Tries to Kill Himself After Arrest in Pedophile Case |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date =September 21, 2007 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/us/21girl.html | access-date=May 6, 2010}}</ref>


==Arrest==
⚫
On October 5, 2007, Atchison successfully committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell in [[Milan, Michigan]].<ref name=Fed>{{cite web | title =Fed Caught In Sex Sting Found Dead In Cell | publisher =[[CBS News]] | date =October 5, 2007 | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/05/national/main3338397.shtml
On September 16, 2007, Atchison was arrested at the [[Detroit Metropolitan Airport]] in a [[sex crime]] [[sting operation]] undertaken by the [[FBI]] and the [[Macomb County, Michigan|Macomb County]] Sheriff's Department.<ref name="auto3"/> Authorities said that he had chatted online for two weeks with an undercover detective posing as a mother offering to let men have sex with her young daughter.<ref name="auto3"/> He wrote that he wanted to have oral, vaginal, and anal sex with the girl.<ref name="auto1"/> Atchison promised that he would not hurt the girl during sex, writing: “I’m always gentle and loving ... I’ve done it plenty."<ref name=BunkleyNYT/> At the time of his arrest, he was carrying presents for his intended victim, including a doll and a pair of hoop earrings.<ref name="auto3"/> Also in his possession was a jar of [[petroleum jelly]] that he planned to use in the sexual encounter.<ref name="auto3"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/us_prosecutor_arrested_in_child_sex_sting|title=U.S. Prosecutor Arrested in Child Sex Sting|website=ABA Journal}}</ref>
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| author =Abby Goodnough| title = U.S. Prosecutor Held in a Child Sex Sting Kills Himself| newspaper =[[The New York Times]]| date =October 6, 2007| url =https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/us/06suicide.html| access-date =September 13, 2015}}</ref>

He was charged with three felonies. They were: "enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity using the Internet", "aggravated [[sexual abuse]]," and "traveling across state lines to have sex with a child under the age of 12".<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto3"/><ref name="Httpwwwclickondetroitcomnewsdetailhtml">[http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14132485/detail.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117032928/http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14132485/detail.html|date=January 17, 2010}}</ref>

==Suicide==
Two weeks after his arrest, Atchison tried to kill himself by hanging himself with a bed sheet in his jail cell in the [[Sanilac County]] Jail in [[Sandusky, Michigan]], about 75 miles north of [[Detroit]], on September 20, 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cop-fed-caught-in-sex-sting-tries-suicide/|title=Cop: Fed Caught In Sex Sting Tries Suicide|website=CBS News|date=20 September 2007 }}</ref><ref name="auto3"/><ref name="auto2"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/us/29florida.html|title=Town Is Shaken After Prosecutor's Arrest in a Child-Sex Sting|first=Abby|last=Goodnough|date=September 29, 2007|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Atchison had been removed from a [[suicide watch]] the previous day after assuring his lawyer and a judge that he would not harm himself.<ref name="auto3"/> He was not injured in the suicide attempt, which another inmate reported about 4 a.m.<ref name=BunkleyNYT>{{cite news | last = Bunkley| first = Nick| title =Prosecutor Tries to Kill Himself After Arrest in Pedophile Case |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date =September 21, 2007 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/us/21girl.html | access-date=May 6, 2010}}</ref>

⚫
On October 5, 2007, Atchison committed [[suicide by hanging]] himself in his one-person prison cell in the special housing unit, for prisoners separated from the general population, of a prison in [[Milan, Michigan]], about 36 miles southwest of Detroit, where he was on suicide watch.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto3"/><ref name=Fed>{{cite web | title =Fed Caught In Sex Sting Found Dead In Cell | publisher =[[CBS News]] | date =October 5, 2007 | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fed-caught-in-sex-sting-found-dead-in-cell/
}}</ref> He was 53 years old.<ref name="auto"/>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Atchison was married and had three children that lived in [[Gulf Breeze, Florida|Gulf Breeze]], near Pensacola.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Bunkley | first = Nick | title = Prosecutor Attempts Suicide After Arrest in Pedophile Case | newspaper = The New York Times | pages = A16 | date = September 21, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Suicide and the Publicly Exposed Pedophile|work=[[PubMed Central]]|pmc=3629679 | pmid=23613648|volume=19|year=2012|pages=50–6 | last1 = Walter | first1 = G | last2 = Pridmore | first2 = S}}</ref>
Atchison was married and had three children, and he and his family lived in [[Gulf Breeze, Florida]], near Pensacola.<ref name="auto3"/><ref>{{Cite news | last = Bunkley | first = Nick | title = Prosecutor Attempts Suicide After Arrest in Pedophile Case | newspaper = The New York Times | pages = A16 | date = September 21, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Suicide and the Publicly Exposed Pedophile|journal= The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences |pmc=3629679 | pmid=23613648|volume=19|year=2012|pages=50–6 | last1 = Walter | first1 = G | last2 = Pridmore | first2 = S|issue=4}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mied-2_10-cv-10545/pdf/USCOURTS-mied-2_10-cv-10545-0.pdf ''Atchison v. Cruz''; "Report and Recommendation"], [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan|U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division]], Case No. 10-10545, [[Gerald Rosen]], District Judge, R. Steven Whalen, Magistrate Judge, January 24, 2011


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Florida lawyers]]
[[Category:People from Chapel Hill, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Jurists who committed suicide]]
[[Category:People from Pensacola, Florida]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:People from Gulf Breeze, Florida]]
[[Category:People who committed suicide in prison custody]]
[[Category:United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Florida]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers]]
[[Category:People who died by suicide in prison custody]]
[[Category:People charged with sex crimes]]
[[Category:Suicides by hanging in Michigan]]
[[Category:Suicides by hanging in Michigan]]
[[Category:American people who died in prison custody]]
[[Category:American people who died in prison custody]]
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[[Category:University of Florida alumni]]
[[Category:University of Florida alumni]]
[[Category:Cumberland School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Cumberland School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:People from Gulf Breeze, Florida]]
[[Category:2007 suicides]]
[[Category:State and local political sex scandals in the United States]]
[[Category:Suicide in 2007]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]

Latest revision as of 19:01, 29 August 2024

John David Roy Atchison
Booking photo of Atchison taken by the Macomb County Sheriff's Department
Born(1954-08-28)August 28, 1954
DiedOctober 5, 2007(2007-10-05) (aged 53)
Milan, Michigan, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Florida
Cumberland Law School
Occupation(s)Prosecutor
Assistant US Attorney
Known forArrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with a 5-year-old girl; suicide by hanging in prison

John David Roy Atchison (August 28, 1954 – October 5, 2007) was an American assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida's northern district who was arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with a 5-year-old girl. He was also a volunteer coach for girls' softball and basketball teams, and president of a youth sports association. He was arrested in a sex sting operation, and charged with "enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity using the Internet", "aggravated sexual abuse," and "traveling across state lines to have sex with someone under the age of 12". Atchison committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell in Milan, Michigan, three weeks later.

Early life and education

[edit]

Atchison earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida, and a Juris Doctor degree from Samford University Cumberland Law School in Birmingham, Alabama.[1] Early on, he lived in Pensacola, Florida.[1]

Career

[edit]

Atchison was admitted to the Florida Bar in June 1984,[2] and to the Georgia Bar in June 1985.[1] He worked as an Assistant United States Attorney federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Pensacola, Florida, in northern Florida, working primarily on tax and financial crime cases.[3][4][5][6]

He was also a volunteer coach for girls’ softball and basketball teams in his hometown of Gulf Breeze, Florida, and president of a youth sports association there, the Gulf Breeze Athletic Association. In the association, girls as young as 4 could participate in a soccer program, and its programs included cheerleading, basketball, football, soccer, and softball.[7][4][8][5][9]

Arrest

[edit]

On September 16, 2007, Atchison was arrested at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in a sex crime sting operation undertaken by the FBI and the Macomb County Sheriff's Department.[5] Authorities said that he had chatted online for two weeks with an undercover detective posing as a mother offering to let men have sex with her young daughter.[5] He wrote that he wanted to have oral, vaginal, and anal sex with the girl.[7] Atchison promised that he would not hurt the girl during sex, writing: “I’m always gentle and loving ... I’ve done it plenty."[4] At the time of his arrest, he was carrying presents for his intended victim, including a doll and a pair of hoop earrings.[5] Also in his possession was a jar of petroleum jelly that he planned to use in the sexual encounter.[5][10]

He was charged with three felonies. They were: "enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity using the Internet", "aggravated sexual abuse," and "traveling across state lines to have sex with a child under the age of 12".[3][5][11]

Suicide

[edit]

Two weeks after his arrest, Atchison tried to kill himself by hanging himself with a bed sheet in his jail cell in the Sanilac County Jail in Sandusky, Michigan, about 75 miles north of Detroit, on September 20, 2007.[12][5][8][13] Atchison had been removed from a suicide watch the previous day after assuring his lawyer and a judge that he would not harm himself.[5] He was not injured in the suicide attempt, which another inmate reported about 4 a.m.[4]

On October 5, 2007, Atchison committed suicide by hanging himself in his one-person prison cell in the special housing unit, for prisoners separated from the general population, of a prison in Milan, Michigan, about 36 miles southwest of Detroit, where he was on suicide watch.[3][5][6] He was 53 years old.[3]

Personal life

[edit]

Atchison was married and had three children, and he and his family lived in Gulf Breeze, Florida, near Pensacola.[5][14][15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Mr. John D Atchison". gabar.org. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007.
  2. ^ "John David Roy Atchison". floridabar.org.
  3. ^ a b c d "Fla. prosecutor charged in sex sting kills self". NBC News. 6 October 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d Bunkley, Nick (September 21, 2007). "Prosecutor Tries to Kill Himself After Arrest in Pedophile Case". The New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Goodnough, Abby (October 6, 2007). "U.S. Prosecutor Held in a Child Sex Sting Kills Himself". The New York Times.
  6. ^ a b "Fed Caught In Sex Sting Found Dead In Cell". CBS News. October 5, 2007.
  7. ^ a b "U.S. Prosecutor Accused of Seeking Sex With Girl, 5". Fox News. March 25, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Federal prosecutor accused in child sex sting attempts suicide". The Oakland Press. September 20, 2007.
  9. ^ "Prosecutor Accused Of Traveling To Have Sex With Child Attempts Suicide". wfmynews2.com. 20 September 2007.
  10. ^ "U.S. Prosecutor Arrested in Child Sex Sting". ABA Journal.
  11. ^ [1] Archived January 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Cop: Fed Caught In Sex Sting Tries Suicide". CBS News. 20 September 2007.
  13. ^ Goodnough, Abby (September 29, 2007). "Town Is Shaken After Prosecutor's Arrest in a Child-Sex Sting". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Bunkley, Nick (September 21, 2007). "Prosecutor Attempts Suicide After Arrest in Pedophile Case". The New York Times. pp. A16.
  15. ^ Walter, G; Pridmore, S (2012). "Suicide and the Publicly Exposed Pedophile". The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences. 19 (4): 50–6. PMC 3629679. PMID 23613648.
[edit]
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