# Federal prosecutor caught in kiddie-sex sting . . . OK, this is getting boring . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 24, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336 "2007-09-24T18:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/1 "2007-09-24T18:28:18Z")
Story [here.](http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070917/UPDATE/709170422&imw=Y) > [@](#): > > A federal prosecutor from Florida was ordered held in custody Monday after he appeared in U.S. District Court in Detroit on a charge that he flew to Detroit intending to have sex with a 5-year-old girl. > > John David R. Atchison, 53, of Gulf Breeze, Fla., an assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida’s northern district, is expected to appear again in court for a detention hearing on Tuesday. > > \ > > A sheriff’s deputy posed as a mother who was interested in finding someone to have sex with her children, in a sting that has already netted a California paramedic and numerous other alleged pedophiles from around the country. > > According to the complaint, Atchison reassured the sheriff’s deputy who was posing as the child’s mother that he would not hurt the 5-year-old because he goes “slow and easy,” and “I’ve done it plenty.” And, in case you had any doubt, [yes, he is a Republican.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/17/161247/155) > [@](#): > > The only registered John Dave R Atchison (John David Roy Atchison) registered in Florida is a Republican from Gulf Breeze (Pensacola suburb) born in 1957, which fits the other information… OK, it’s got kids in it, so I give the dude some credit for pushing the envelope. [But not by much.](http://www.sptimes.com/2007/09/08/Southpinellas/Scandal_and_suicide_o.shtml) Otherwise, this is getting tedious. OK, we get it! You Pub pols are all a bunch of sanctimonious hypocritical pervs! There’s no need to hammer it home! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/2 "2007-09-24T18:30:37Z")
How the fuck does anyone fall for a sting like that?!? Are there really people out there trying to get strangers to come fuck their kindergarteners? :mad: :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/3 "2007-09-24T18:35:52Z")
Sadly, yes. There have been news stories in the past about mothers prostituting their very, very underage daughters. It happens. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/4 "2007-09-24T18:40:24Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] OK, we get it! You Pub pols are all a bunch of sanctimonious hypocritical pervs! There’s no need to hammer it home! [/QUOTE] You know, I was just yelled at by pretty much everyone because I was seen as trying to make a general crime seem political. I guess the point was lost on you. [In case it wasn’t, I will note that the ex-head of Virginia’s ACLU](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090701673.html) just picked up a 7 year sentence for child porn. Now, does the ACLU support child porn? I don’t think so. Certainly the Republicans don’t, and they don’t support the crimes Atchison has been accused of either. So the conclusion is that there are some bad apples in every bushel. Of course, if you don’t think that, then I will await your condemnation of the ACLU. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/5 "2007-09-24T18:41:36Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] How the fuck does anyone fall for a sting like that?!? Are there really people out there trying to get strangers to come fuck their kindergarteners? :mad: :dubious: [/QUOTE] This was my thought exactly, and I never made it to the “he’s Republican” part. My jaw just dropped at the thought that 1. He fell for it. 2. which means it really happens, in the States no less, not some third world country 3. "Atchison reassured the sheriff’s deputy who was posing as the child’s mother that he would not hurt the 5-year-old because he goes ‘slow and easy,’ and “I’ve done it plenty.'” ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/6 "2007-09-24T18:42:37Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] You know, I was just yelled at by pretty much everyone because I was seen as trying to make a general crime seem political. [/quote] In what thread? [QUOTE=Mr. Moto] [In case it wasn’t, I will note that the ex-head of Virginia’s ACLU](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090701673.html) just picked up a 7 year sentence for child porn. Now, does the ACLU support child porn? I don’t think so. Certainly the Republicans don’t, and they don’t support the crimes Atchison has been accused of either. So the conclusion is that there are some bad apples in every bushel. Of course, if you don’t think that, then I will await your condemnation of the ACLU. 😉 [/QUOTE] I condemn the dude for shameless copycatting and lack of originality. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/7 "2007-09-24T18:47:07Z")
[Atchison attempted suicide in his cell, BTW.](http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_263113415.html) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/8 "2007-09-24T18:47:48Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] This was my thought exactly, and I never made it to the “he’s Republican” part. [/quote] Yeah, I don’t even care about the “he’s Republican” thing in this case. Being a _registered_ Republican (like this creep) and being a Republican _elected official_ (like any of our recent rogues’ gallery) are two very different things. ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/9 "2007-09-24T18:51:03Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] OK, we get it! You Pub pols are all a bunch of sanctimonious hypocritical pervs! There’s no need to hammer it home! [/QUOTE] Federal prosecutors aren’t politicians. Since, you know, they aren’t elected and their jobs are non-political. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/10 "2007-09-24T19:15:11Z")
Yeah, but nobody looks at the bright side. The child he thought he was going to have sex with was a girl. There’s nothin’ gay about Atchison. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/11 "2007-09-24T19:21:08Z")
[QUOTE=Amok] Federal prosecutors aren’t politicians. Since, you know, they aren’t elected and their jobs are non-political. [/QUOTE] Eh. Federal prosecutors are political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the Attorney General as head of the Department of Justice. They almost always lose their jobs when the presidential administration changes and the other party comes into power. So, no, they are not elected and, yes, the manner in which they do their job should be non-political (if they are doing it right), but it’s nevertheless not strictly correct to ignore the political aspect of the job because there is in fact a big honkin’ political aspect of the job. (Namely, if you’re not at least semi-prominent in support of the party, you ain’t gonna _get_ the job.) Which is not to say that liking child porn to a particular political philosophy isn’t horseshit; it is. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/12 "2007-09-24T19:21:28Z")
[QUOTE=Bill Door] Yeah, but nobody looks at the bright side. The child he thought he was going to have sex with was a girl. There’s nothin’ gay about Atchison. [/QUOTE] Stop it! _smacks Bill_ Ok, you made me laugh. Thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/13 "2007-09-24T19:46:18Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] Eh. Federal prosecutors are political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the Attorney General as head of the Department of Justice. [/QUOTE] This is true. But the guy we’re talking about was an \*Assistant \* U.S. Attorney. They are hired, not appointed. [Department of Justice | Homepage | United States Department of Justice](http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/dc/Employment/AUSA/AUSA_Forms.html) This doesn’t change much. They’re not elected. Nor, as we’ve seen, are the people who make the hiring and firing decisions. But assistants don’t generally leave office when their bosses do. Their appointments aren’t supposed to be political. > [@](#): > > \*\*Selections are made of the most highly qualified attorneys who apply, without regard to \*\* race, sex, creed, color, national origin, handicap, age, or **political affiliation**. > **[Department of Justice | Homepage | United States Department of Justice](https://www.justice.gov/)** > > Official website of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). DOJ’s mission is to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal... I have no idea who hired this guy or even whether he was any good. So that’s all I’ll say. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/14 "2007-09-24T19:57:34Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] This is true. But the guy we’re talking about was an \*Assistant \* U.S. Attorney. They are hired, not appointed. [/quote] You’re right, of course. That only underscores what complete BS it is to paint this as a political issue. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/15 "2007-09-24T20:06:21Z")
\ > [@](#): > > "Atchison reassured the sheriff’s deputy who was posing as the child’s mother that he would not hurt the 5-year-old because he goes ‘slow and easy,’ and “I’ve done it plenty.'” The sheriff’s deputy showed marvelous restraint by not killing him as soon as he said this. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/16 "2007-09-24T20:14:11Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] And, in case you had any doubt, [yes, he is a Republican.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/17/161247/155) [/QUOTE] I thought this place was supposed to be about fighting ignorance, not promoting it! ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/17 "2007-09-24T20:14:32Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] Which is not to say that liking child porn to a particular political philosophy isn’t horseshit; it is. [/QUOTE] absol-fucking-lutely. goddam it **BrainGlutton** the topic was rantable on it’s on (RO type) merits. There was abso-fucking-lutely no goddam reason to make it partisan. There are scads and scads of **legitimate** partisan type gripes around (you have no problem locating lots), you don’t need to water down the message by doing this sort of underhanded bullshit. please stop. thank you. fucking typo the guys name why don’t ya? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/18 "2007-09-24T20:15:01Z")
[QUOTE=you with the face] \ The sheriff’s deputy showed marvelous restraint by not killing him as soon as he said this. [/QUOTE] That would have been hard. He was hundreds of miles away. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/19 "2007-09-24T20:28:38Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] That would have been hard. He was hundreds of miles away. [/QUOTE] So she could’ve strapped on the Depends and started driving. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336/20 "2007-09-24T20:44:16Z")
[QUOTE=Starving Artist] I thought this place was supposed to be about fighting ignorance, not promoting it! [/QUOTE] Yeah, good fucking luck with that. I swear some folks around here would burn Republicans at the stake if they were allowed to. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-prosecutor-caught-in-kiddie-sex-sting-ok-this-is-getting-boring/420336.md?page=2)