Nationality American Education University of Florida Role Attorney | Name John Roy Occupation Prosecutor
Attorney | |
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Other names J D “Roy” Atchison
J.D. Roy Atchison
Roy Atchison
John D. Atchison Alma mater University of Florida
Cumberland Law School Died October 5, 2007, Milan, Michigan, United States | ||
John David Roy 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.
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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 and the Georgia Bar in June 1985. He worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in Pensacola, Florida, working on tax and financial crime cases.
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". 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.
On October 5, 2007, Atchison committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell in Milan, Michigan.
Personal life
Atchison was married to, and had three children with, Barbara Atchison and lived in Gulf Breeze, near Pensacola.