John David R. Atchison was an assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida's northern district

United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the northern part of the state of Florida....

 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

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

 and a law degree from Cumberland Law School at Samford University

Samford University

Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....

 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

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

, 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

Macomb County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 788,149 people, 309,203 households, and 210,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,640 people per square mile . There were 320,276 housing units at an average density of 667 per square mile...

 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. Also in his possession was a jar of petroleum jelly

Petroleum jelly

Petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum or soft paraffin, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons , originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties...

. 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.

On October 5, 2007, Atchison committed suicide in his prison cell.