John Atchison
John David Roy Atchison | |
|---|---|
 Booking photo of Atchison taken by the Macomb County Sheriff's department | |
| Born | August 28, 1954 |
| Died | October 5, 2007 (aged 53) Milan, Michigan, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by hanging |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | J D "Roy" Atchison J.D. Roy Atchison Roy Atchison John D. Atchison |
| Alma mater | University of Florida Cumberland Law School |
| Occupation(s) | Prosecutor Attorney |
| Political party | Republican |
John David Roy Atchison (August 28, 1954 – October 5, 2007) was an assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida's northern district who gained notoriety when he was arrested for suspicion of soliciting for sex with a 5-year-old girl.
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.
Career
Atchison was admitted to the Florida Bar in June 1984[1] and the Georgia Bar in June 1985.[2] He worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in Pensacola, Florida,[3] working on tax and financial crime cases.[4] he was a member of the Republican Party.[5]
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. 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".[6] 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 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.[3]
On October 5, 2007, Atchison died from suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell in Milan, Michigan.[4][7]
Personal life
Atchison was married and had three children that lived in Gulf Breeze, near Pensacola.[8][9]
References
- ^ "John David Roy Atchison".
- ^ "Mr. John D Atchison". Archived from the original on May 10, 2007.
- ^ a b Bunkley, Nick (September 21, 2007). "Prosecutor Tries to Kill Himself After Arrest in Pedophile Case". The New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- ^ a b "Fed Caught In Sex Sting Found Dead In Cell". CBS News. October 5, 2007.
- ^ "J. D. Roy Atchison".
- ^ http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14132485/detail.html Archived January 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Abby Goodnough (October 6, 2007). "U.S. Prosecutor Held in a Child Sex Sting Kills Himself". The New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ Bunkley, Nick (September 21, 2007). "Prosecutor Attempts Suicide After Arrest in Pedophile Case". The New York Times. pp. A16.
- ^ 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.
- 1954 births
- 2007 deaths
- Florida lawyers
- People who committed suicide in prison custody
- Suicides by hanging in Michigan
- American people who died in prison custody
- Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention
- University of Florida alumni
- Cumberland School of Law alumni
- People from Gulf Breeze, Florida
- State and local political sex scandals in the United States
- 2007 suicides
- 20th-century American lawyers