Gulf Coast Confidential: Confessions in the Fieldhouse

A Pensacola high school coach was busted for secretly sexting a girl in his science class, but when the “come on” was discovered the teacher’s principal and fellow coaches huddled around him and left the victim on the sidelines. Join me for this expose and the horrific twist that cost the coach’s wife her life.

Hi, I’m Mollye Barrows, a longtime reporter in Florida’s Panhandle and welcome to my investigative series, Gulf Coast Confidential. Here I dive into the saltier stories that surface in Northwest Florida and all along the Gulf of Mexico. A warning that this story is about a case involving pedophilia and suicide and the details are very explicit.

Most people have secrets. Maybe it’s something relatively minor like a pack of cigarettes hidden in the garage, a petrifying fear of cats, or a compulsion for online shopping. Maybe it’s something more significant like debilitating debt, an illicit affair, or an addiction to drugs. Lots of folks can relate to keeping something personal on the down low, including assistant United States attorney Roy Atchison. He had a dirty secret, but it wasn’t little. It was the kind of secret that would kill him if people knew, but maybe he felt his secret was safe because he had, “Done It Plenty.”

Most everybody liked Roy Atchison. The tall, middle-aged man was well-known in his hometown of Gulf Breeze, a small, affluent city across the bay from Pensacola, where he had a pretty house with a wrap-a-round porch and was president of the Gulf Breeze Sports Association, a youth sports organization. People trusted Roy with their children and why wouldn’t they? In 2007, he was a family man with three grown kids, and his wife of almost twenty-five years, Barbara, was a former Teacher-of-the-Year at Gulf Breeze High School where she also taught cheerleading.

Since the 1980’s, Atchison had also worked as an assistant U. S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida where he focused mostly on asset forfeitures in criminal cases. In fact, he oversaw the seizure of the popular Sandshaker Lounge on Pensacola Beach. The bar was at the center of a federal cocaine trafficking investigation in the early 2000’s and the government seized the property and sold it at auction. Atchison could be counted on to get the job done, at work and at home, and between them both it seemed he was always busy. One co-worker even thought Atchison might have had a “side business” because he spent so much on time on his personal laptop at the office.

No one suspected anything nefarious or particularly unusual. Not even when an assistant dropped by Atchison’s office and asked if he needed her to work on anything while he was gone. It was Friday, September 14, 2007, a couple of days before Atchison said he was leaving town to visit his brother and the woman noticed Atchison was shopping online. According to FBI documents obtained and discussed on the website of investigative journalist, Margie Burns, Atchison told the unnamed assistant he was shopping for doll clothes.

“Atchison said that he was trying to find Dora doll outfits for his niece. He said she has the doll, but needs the outfits,” the documents stated. “He showed [name redacted] a red outfit that he had in the office, “Holiday Dora.” [Redacted] and Atchison discussed locations around town where the outfits could be purchased. [Redacted] suggested some online sites which might have the outfits he was looking for.”

The conversation was seen in a whole new light by the end of the weekend. While Atchison may have been secretive to people in person about his plans, online he was much more forthcoming. According to Detroit police, he had been a regular chatterbox for the past couple of weeks, emailing almost daily with someone he believed to be a divorced, single mom with a five-year-old daughter she was offering for sex.

In one of his last e-mail exchanges with the undercover agent, Atchison told her to tell her daughter that “you found her a sweet boyfriend who will bring her presents.”

According to court documents, when she expressed concern that sex could injure the girl Atchison responded, “I’m always gentle and loving; not to worry; no damage ever; no rough stuff ever, ever.”

“I’ve done it plenty,” the then 53-year-old man added.

That statement alone is horrifying, but what Atchison brought with him on the trip ratcheted up the “ick” factor and provided investigators with even more evidence as far as his intent. When Atchison got off the plane at Detroit’s international airport on Sunday, September 16, 2007, according to authorities he was carrying a Dora the Explorer doll with accessories and one doll outfit, one stuffed tiger, hoop earrings, one tube of CVS petroleum jelly, one Cialis pill, and four other unknown pills. 

The lawman was arrested for attempted enticement of a minor using the Internet, aggravated sexual abuse, and traveling across state lines to have sex with someone under 12 – charges he denied and pleaded not guilty to. However, investigators say from what they found online and in his home, it was clear Atchison was leading a double life.

According to the FBI documents they recovered the following evidence on his computers and hard drives:  more than 2,900 “Possible Sexual Exploitation of Children Pictures,” 51 “Possible Sexual Exploitation of Children Pictures Involving Bondage and/or Torture,” ten “Possible Sexual Exploitation of Children Movies,” eight “Possible Pictures of the Subject of Investigation,” and hundreds of Yahoo! Chat Files including 210 files for profiles “aaronpottypants” and “fldaddy04.”

Authorities said the ”fldaddy04” moniker was traced to Atchison’s Yahoo! profile which said, “I adore everything about young girls, how they talk, think, act, walk, look.” Police say he added that his interests included “surfing, skiing, diving, boating, young girls, petite girls, skinny girls.”

A search of Atchison’s home yielded more information. In the bottom drawer of a dresser in the closet they found, “twelve pair of girls panties with flower & cartoon print,” as well as “four cloth and one plastic diaper undergarments” in a “blue plastic tub.” For safekeeping, they also got permission to take four guns, a Smith & Wesson revolver, two 12-gauge shotguns, and a Chinese semi-automatic.

Meanwhile back at the office, the assistant who had discussed shopping for doll clothes with Atchison before he left had delivered on her promise to pick up some more doll outfits for him that weekend and had left the bag of items in his office.

“Upon entry to the office at approximately 1:22 PM, a shopping bag containing three sets of doll clothes was observed resting on the desk chair,” the FBI documents said. The Walmart bag “was determined to contain three boxes of “Dora the Explorer” and “Dress Up Adventure” clothes.”

Friends, family, and co-workers were shocked. The FBI even made a note of it in their investigation and said no one in his personal or professional life was aware of any child molestation or pedophilia behavior by Atchison. His daughter was adamant he had never hurt her, her sister or their friends or been inappropriate in any way.

However, according to a FOIA records request, Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney at the time Dixie Morrow told investigators that Atchison quote - “had at some point in the past year or two, made an electronic request through DOJ for authorization to attend a child molestation seminar,” end quote - but the request was denied since it “did not fit with his assigned duties in working civil and forfeiture matters.”

Atchison’s arrest made headlines at home and across the country. In Gulf Breeze, then Deputy Police Chief Robert Randle told the press, quote - “There’s so many unanswered questions. So many people had children involved with him. But unless somebody steps forward and lodges a complaint, we have nothing to go on,” end quote.

Media outlets from around the state including Tampa Bay.com covered the salacious story.

Criminal defense lawyer Barry Beroset told the publication at the time, quote: "He had an excellent reputation," end quote. That he had known Atchison for 15 years and described him as quote: "he was very businesslike and appeared to be a very good man," end quote.

Ronald Johnson, a Pensacola defense lawyer who also had worked with Atchison, said he was fairly intellectual, adding quote: "Sometimes he was a little eccentric, but nothing perverted or weird. Just a little different," end quote.

Johnson reportedly could not elaborate and in other interviews "nice guy" was said to come up a lot. Then Gulf Breeze City Manager, Edwin A. Eddy, said at the time Atchison was quote: "no more charismatic than anybody else" and "not any quieter or more gregarious than anyone else," end quote.

Eddy also coached softball with Atchison and said that while parents sometimes asked that their children not be assigned to certain coaches in the sports program, none had ever complained about Atchison, who was also president of the Gulf Breeze Athletic Association.

Eddy said: "Nobody ever had any negative comments. Nobody ever said, 'Anybody but this guy.'"

According to authorities and friends of his family, they was also floored by the shocking arrest and authorities said they found no evidence or received any complaints that Atchison abused anyone else in his hometown of Gulf Breeze.

Authorities reported that the only indication of deceit they could find on Atchison’s part was about his travel plans the weekend of his bust. 

Federal investigators reported, quote: “At the time of Atchison’s arrest, his family believed that he was on a government sponsored trip; and coworkers believed he was on authorized vacation/leave to visit a brother. A general comment made by those who know Atchison was that he did a lot of traveling,” end quote.

Atchison initially told investigators he went to Detroit to convince the mother, a woman he described as quote, unquote, “this lady,” to change her mind about allowing men to have sex with her child. He said while he was there he was going to show her there are quote, “other ways to raise a child, without sex,” unquote. When asked why he didn’t report the abuse to authorities Atchison said he didn’t because he was quote, unquote, “stupid.”

However, Atchison would later confess that he did travel to Detroit with the intention of having sex with who he thought was a real 5-year-old girl, explaining that’s why brought the petroleum jelly, to use as a lubricant. He also admitted to buying the Dora the Explorer doll, some doll clothes and to pornographic Internet correspondence.

In another FBI interview, Atchison continued to deny that he had ever had sex with a child and said he did not know why he had embarked on this particular trip to Detroit. He did admit to taking three trips to different cities to have sex with women who were “adult baby diaper lovers.” Atchison told them they were “fetish related encounters” and on two occasions the woman never showed.

According to the documents, Atchison even “gave details about a ring of pedophiles located in the Western United States,” and provided information about some of his Internet pals. He also gave authorities permission to use his online identity.

When he began to crumble, Atchison reportedly told investigators that he had been quote, “under a lot of stress in the past year,” unquote. He said he began drinking more and spending more time online with people he found quote, unquote, “interesting.” He had this to say in a written statement to investigators.

Quote: “I, John D Roy Atchison, over the past year or so I have been under increasing stress at work and at home. This caused undiagnosed depression, excessive alcohol consumption and I began to frequent the internet, particularly a website called Hi5. As I became more involved in that site I came across several individuals who appeared to have a network of families who allowed adults to have sexual contact with their minor daughters. Prior to this contact I had never known such a thing existed on any organized basis. Because of my state of mind at the time, I found conversation with these individuals strangely interesting . . .” End quote.

Three weeks after Roy Atchison’s arrest he was found hanging dead in a cell on Friday, October 5, at a federal prison in Milan, Michigan. He had hung himself with a bed sheet. It wasn’t his first attempt. Two weeks after his arrest, Atchison tried to kill himself by hanging himself with a bed sheet in his jail cell in the Sanilac County Jail in Sandusky, Michigan.

He had been taken off a suicide watch the day before after he convinced his lawyer and a judge that he would not harm himself. Another inmate saw the attempt early that morning and reported it before Atchison was injured. Atchison was moved to another facility in Milan, Michigan where he was placed on suicide watch again, but he still succeeded.

A comment left on Margie Burns website about the suicide is below. It was left by a person called “Jim,” in 2019, who claimed to be in the same prison with Atchison at the time he died.

Quote: “I was there. Right next to him when he killed himself. They put him in the cell right next to the showers. Not in the fishbowl. Which was where he should have been… they kept him naked… with only a sheet. This was the hole at Milan. Not the detention center across the street. four tiers of open cages and a huge echo. the screaming started the instant they brought him into the hole….and it never ever stopped. not ever.. not even in the darkest hours of early morning. They would sing …”I love you… you love me …Barney gave me HIV… with a great big hug and a kiss for me down there… Barney pull down my underwear” over and over and over again… to drive him over the edge. the guard {name redacted} loved it! one day he came up and said so loud that everyone could hear.. well now I think I’ll just go out for a smoke…you boys take care of yourselves now, you here?….and then he left. and that’s when the screaming reached its Crescendo and that’s when he did it. I tried to talk him out of it but in truth, there was no way he could even hear me. it was so loud in there. there was nothing I could do… it was murder. Pure 1st degree murder by a federal prison guard named {name redacted}. I was there and saw it all. Heard it all. Can never forget it. But what the fuck. he’s just a stinking pedophile… who cares? Right? He was never a human being to begin with. Right??…I remember a quote from Mark Twain. he said if you want to see the true dregs of society, go visit a prison……… at shift change time…….” End quote.

Atchison’s suicide is not surprising considering the attention surrounding his arrest and the loss of his job, family, and freedom. The charges of "enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity using the Internet" and "aggravated sexual abuse" each carried a potential sentence of up to thirty years, while the charge of "traveling across state lines to have sex with someone under the age of 12" could have potentially put him in prison for life.

Interestingly, Atchison’s brother, an attorney and former judge in the City of Gulfport, Mississippi, was also experiencing criminal and legal trouble around the same time. In 2005, then-Chief Municipal Court Judge William B. Atchison was one of many defendants in a lawsuit filed by the Southern Center for Human Rights and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational fund. The suit alleged the city was basically running a debtor’s prison and was illegally targeting poor, Black people by repeatedly incarcerating them for unpaid fines with little process. The lawsuit was eventually settled.

About a year later, Chief Judge “Bill” Atchison was arrested for abusing prescription drugs. Deputies in Harrison County, Mississippi and Gulfport police say he obtained a 15-day supply of hydrocodone from one physician, another prescription from a second physician five days later, and a third prescription from a third physician two weeks later. Atchison resigned as chief judge but managed to avoid jail time after the court allowed him to go to a pre-trial diversion program for first time offenders. By far, Roy Atchison’s arrest and scandal had a far bigger impact on his family. His wife eventually retired from Gulf Breeze High School, but according to friends and family she and Atchison’s son still live in the area.

The case is still a “talker” with people along the Gulf Coast. It got an array of reactions when I posted an article about it on my Facebook page, most people were simply disgusted and horrified someone who seemed so “normal” and involved with children and the community was capable of something like this. Several others, friends and a relative of the Atchison family were outraged and angry that I would bring up the story.

I feel it’s important because crimes like these, involving pedophilia, are debilitating to victims, and can cause lifelong damage. This is public information that we can learn from, that predators come from all walks of life. If Atchison’s family is upset by this story, it’s understandable, normal people would be, but no one holds the truth hostage. Regardless of how sensitive or insensitive one may be, the truth is the truth.

Atchison’s suicide put an end to the case, but some wonder if he had lived, could he have helped bust other online pedophiles. Still others say perhaps that very knowledge may have also made his death a convenience for those who would avoid detection. Those questions remain, along with the possibility of other victims. Afterall, he told police he had “done it plenty.”

Thank you for joining me for this episode of Gulf Coast Confidential. You can check out more stories on your favorite streaming platform, including Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.