Prosecutor Charged in Sex Sting Tries Suicide
A federal prosecutor arrested in a child sex sting tried to hang himself in jail early today.
John David Roy Atchison was accused of flying to the Detroit area to have sex with a 5-year-old girl. His suicide attempt comes one day after he assured a judge he would not harm himself, the Detroit News reports.
Another inmate warned deputies that Atchison was trying to kill himself by tying a sheet around his neck. Deputies found Atchison before he harmed himself.
Atchison’s lawyer says he supported Atchison’s request to be taken off suicide watch. “We all operate on the best of intentions,” he told the newspaper. “At the time, I thought it was the right decision. Apparently, it was a mistake.”
Atchison of Gulf Breeze, Fla., handles civil matters for the Northern District of Florida. The office released a statement saying employees there “are deeply saddened by the arrest.”
The Detroit Free Press reports that he appeared to be an upstanding citizen of the Pensacola suburb.
