John David Roy Atchison

Who was John David Roy Atchison?

John David Roy Atchison 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 and the Georgia Bar in June 1985. Since the late 1980s, he worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in Pensacola, Florida, working on tax and financial crime cases. He was married to and had three children with Barbara Atchison and lived in Gulf Breeze, near Pensacola.

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. 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.