
See you in hell, counselorFlorida federal prosecutor John D.R. Atchison, accused of flying to Detroit last month to molest a 5-year-old girl,
committed suicide in his cell Friday in federal prison.
Atchison was found unresponsive, taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, said Felicia Ponce, spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington. A
previous suicide attempt was foiled in September, according to authorities.
Atchison was being held in a special housing unit in the prison in Milan, about 36 miles southwest of Detroit. The administrative detention area houses all levels of prisoners, and Atchison had a cell to himself, Ponce said, declining to say how he killed himself or whether he was on suicide watch.
Atchison, 53, was arrested last month at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after weeks of Internet conversations between the prosecutor and a detective posing as the mother of a 5-year-old girl. He was carrying presents for the girl, including a doll and hoop earrings, and also had sexual materials, including petroleum jelly.
After his arrest, Atchison was placed on suicide watch, but it was lifted at the request of the defense, after Atchison assured a U.S. magistrate he wouldn't harm himself. Two days later, Atchison used a sheet in his Sanilac County jail cell to try to hang himself.
A married father of three, Atchison was an assistant U.S. attorney in northern Florida, based in Pensacola. Residents have described him as a respected figure who coached girls' softball and basketball in a park a few blocks from his home. A statement released Friday by his lawyer said he 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 read.
Tags: child abuse, child molester, doj scandal, suicide
From: Chicago
Mood:
Good Riddance