John Atchison

John David R. Atchison (August, 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 sex from a 5-year old girl.

Atchison was born in 1954 and held both a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and a law degree from Cumberland Law School at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in June 1984 [cite web | last = | first = | title =John David Roy Atchison | work = | publisher = | date = | url = http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/All/5ED9B953024FABFD85256A830080B8C4?OpenDocument] and the Georgia Bar in June 1985. [cite web | last = | first = | title =Mr. John D Atchison | work = | publisher = | date = | url = http://www.gabar.org/directories/member_directory_search/member_detail/?id=MDI2Mjgw] Since the late 1980s, he worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in Pensacola, Florida,cite web
last = Wernowsky
first = Kris
title = Atchison Indicted
publisher = Pensacola New Journal
date = September 18, 2007
url = http://pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/NEWS01/709180321/1006] working on tax and financial crime cases. [ cite web
last = Nelson
first = Melissa
title = Prosecutor's arrest worries Florida town
publisher = Associated Press
date = September 21, 2007
url = http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070921/ap_on_re_us/prosecutor_sex_sting_1] He was married to and had three children with Barbara Atchison and lived in Gulf Breeze, near Pensacola. [Citation | last = Bunkley | first = Nick | title = Prosecutor Attempts Suicide After Arrest in Pedophile Case | newspaper = The New York Times | pages = A16 | year = 2007 | date = September 21, 2007]

On September 16 2007, Atchison was arrested at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in a sex crime sting operation undertaken by the Macomb County Sheriff's department. [cite web | last = Arboscello | first = Christy | title = Hearing for federal prosecutor accused in sex sting delayed | work = | publisher = Detroit Free Press | date = September 18, 2007 | url = http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770918041] 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". 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 commit suicide via hanging 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. [cite web | last = | first = | title =Prosecutor Tries to Kill Himself After Arrest in Pedophile Case | work = | publisher =The New York Times | date =September 21, 2007 | url =http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/us/21girl.html ]

On October 5 2007, Atchison committed suicide in his prison cell. [cite web | last = | first = | title =Fed Caught In Sex Sting Found Dead In Cell | work = | publisher =CBS News | date =October 5, 2007 | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/05/national/main3338397.shtml ]

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