He saved us a lot of trouble!
Florida Prosecutor Accused of Seeking Sex With 5-Year-Old Girl Kills Himself in Prison Cell
Friday , October 05, 2007
DETROIT -
A federal prosecutor accused of flying to Detroit last month to have sex with a 5-year-old girl committed suicide Friday in his cell in a Milan federal prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John D.R. Atchison was found unresponsive, taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 10:17 a.m., Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Felicia Ponce said.
Atchison, of Gulf Breeze, Fla., was being held in a special housing unit in the prison, about 36 miles southwest of Detroit.
The administrative detention area houses all levels of prisoners, and Atchison had a cell to himself, Ponce said.
An investigation into his death is under way, she said.
He was charged with three felonies, the most serious of which was crossing state lines with intent to have sex with someone under 12. A conviction had carried a minimum of 30 years in prison.
A statement released Friday by his lawyer, James Thomas, said Atchison had "done a lot of good in his life."
"Unfortunately, he is going to be judged by his most recent charges and what we have read in the media, and not by the goodness, hard work or by the love of his family."
The statement also said Thomas would file a request to have the case dismissed.
Atchison had attempted to hang himself with a bedsheet last month in a Sanilac county jail, but another inmate alerted guards who stopped the suicide attempt. He later was taken by U.S. Marshals to the Milan prison.
Three days before that suicide attempt, Atchison had assured a judge he would not harm himself.
The married father of three was a respected figure who coached girls' softball and basketball in a park a few blocks from his Gulf Breeze home. His office was in Pensacola.
But authorities say he had been communicating with an undercover sheriff's detective from Macomb County, Mich., who was posing online as the fictitious girl's mother and arranged for him to have sex with the child.
He was arrested Sept. 16 at Detroit Metro Airport carrying presents, including a doll and earrings, and sexual materials, officials said.
As a federal prosecutor, Atchison mostly worked on tax and financial crime cases. According to court records, it appears he never prosecuted child sex abuse cases.
Friday , October 05, 2007
DETROIT -
A federal prosecutor accused of flying to Detroit last month to have sex with a 5-year-old girl committed suicide Friday in his cell in a Milan federal prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John D.R. Atchison was found unresponsive, taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 10:17 a.m., Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Felicia Ponce said.
Atchison, of Gulf Breeze, Fla., was being held in a special housing unit in the prison, about 36 miles southwest of Detroit.
The administrative detention area houses all levels of prisoners, and Atchison had a cell to himself, Ponce said.
An investigation into his death is under way, she said.
He was charged with three felonies, the most serious of which was crossing state lines with intent to have sex with someone under 12. A conviction had carried a minimum of 30 years in prison.
A statement released Friday by his lawyer, James Thomas, said Atchison had "done a lot of good in his life."
"Unfortunately, he is going to be judged by his most recent charges and what we have read in the media, and not by the goodness, hard work or by the love of his family."
The statement also said Thomas would file a request to have the case dismissed.
Atchison had attempted to hang himself with a bedsheet last month in a Sanilac county jail, but another inmate alerted guards who stopped the suicide attempt. He later was taken by U.S. Marshals to the Milan prison.
Three days before that suicide attempt, Atchison had assured a judge he would not harm himself.
The married father of three was a respected figure who coached girls' softball and basketball in a park a few blocks from his Gulf Breeze home. His office was in Pensacola.
But authorities say he had been communicating with an undercover sheriff's detective from Macomb County, Mich., who was posing online as the fictitious girl's mother and arranged for him to have sex with the child.
He was arrested Sept. 16 at Detroit Metro Airport carrying presents, including a doll and earrings, and sexual materials, officials said.
As a federal prosecutor, Atchison mostly worked on tax and financial crime cases. According to court records, it appears he never prosecuted child sex abuse cases.
0
-
Some justice, anyway. I hope he's burning in hell! [:(!][:(!]
rider0 -
Very proper end to a sick B**tard. my guess would be that he has abused many other children and could not face the possibility of those being exposed. 0 -
I don't feel very sorry for him, but I do feel sorry for his family... 0 -
In the end, he did the right thing. [:)] 0 -
Good Riddance!!! [}:)] 0 -
dheff..
There was another one in Florida not too long ago....Molested his adopted daughters and when the story started coming out, he killed himself...
Just goes to show a person, pedofiles are all over, all walks of life.....
Here is the story of a St. Pete councilman...
ST. PETERSBURG -- Just after 1 p.m. Friday, City Council Chairman John Bryan, left, walked into City Hall and handed in his resignation letter.
Less than five hours later, he was slumped over in a golf cart in the garage of his Floral City home, dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Bryan, 56, had committed suicide.
Bryan's shocking death came after news spread Friday that authorities were investigating stunning allegations that he had sexually abused three girls, including two of his adopted daughters, ages 12 and 15. Ron Stuart, a spokesman for the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, said the third alleged victim was a nanny for Bryan years ago and no longer lives in the area.
For city officials, the allegations were as jarring as they were sickening. Bryan was a hometown business hero, a pillar of the community, a powerful voice on the City Council dais and a close ally of Mayor Rick Baker.
St. Petersburg Times reporter Dan DeWitt went to Bryan's home in Citrus County on Friday afternoon seeking an interview about the allegations. After driving about 100 yards up a gravelly driveway, DeWitt walked toward Bryan's lakefront home at about 5:45 p.m. and noticed the sound of a motor from the garage, a tan block building detached from the house.
DeWitt smelled strong gasoline fumes. He looked through a small window into the garage and saw a man resembling Bryan slumped over in a white golf cart. A red riding mower was running, and the room was filled with smoke. Two four-wheelers in the garage had also run out of gas, Citrus County officials said.
DeWitt called 911 and tried to open the garage door, which was locked. Five minutes later, paramedics arrived and broke into the garage. A paramedic told DeWitt that Bryan was dead.
"I was stunned," DeWitt said.
In an enclosed space, carbon monoxide can quickly render a person unconscious and kill them in minutes, officials said.
St. Petersburg police declined to comment on news of Bryan's suicide, or on their investigation. Bryan left a note, but DeWitt said Citrus County deputies would not let him see it.
On Friday around 10:30 a.m., Bryan attended a shelter hearing in front of Circuit Judge Raymond Gross at the criminal court complex in Largo. Such hearings determine who has custody of children while authorities investigate abuse allegations.
The hearing was brief, according to court spokesman Stuart. St. Petersburg police had opened a criminal investigation into Bryan.
Authorities were investigating allegations that Bryan had sexually abused two of his adopted daughters, ages 12 and 15, Stuart said.
In addition, authorities were also investigating whether Bryan had sexually abused his former nanny, whom he had also adopted. The former nanny is now 38.
Stuart said Bryan admitted to a sexual relationship with the nanny, but said it was consensual and occurred after the nanny turned 18.
"He claims a consensual sexual relationship," Stuart said Friday afternoon. "He claims she was of age."
Judge Gross ordered Bryan to have no contact with the children, Stuart said. Gross allowed the children to remain at home with their mother, Alicia Bryan.
For more, pick up Saturday's Times or visit tampabay.com.
Abhi Raghunathan, Aaron Sharockman and Chris Tisch, Times staff writers0 -
Ad least they had the brains to off themselves. Some mistakes you cannot recover from.
Will save the victim and families a lot of hardship.0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
7 comments