U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe | U.S. Department of Justice
Jason James Atha, a 51-year-old dentist from Broomfield, Colorado, has pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to charges related to attempted enticement of a minor and transportation of child pornography. The plea was entered following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami.
The court records indicate that Atha began using a social networking application on October 3, 2023, to solicit sex with an individual he believed to be the mother of an eight-year-old child. The supposed mother was actually an undercover HSI special agent operating in the Southern District of Florida. Atha's communications reportedly included explicit details about the sexual acts he intended to perform with the child. He traveled to Palm Beach International Airport on August 9 with the intention of meeting the child but was arrested upon arrival. Subsequent searches of his devices uncovered videos containing child pornography.
Atha is scheduled for sentencing on March 11, 2025, in Ft. Pierce, Florida before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for attempted enticement and up to 20 years for transporting child pornography.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of HSI Miami. The case was investigated by HSI West Palm Beach with assistance from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood or to report instances of child sexual exploitation and abuse, individuals are encouraged to visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call (877) 4-HSI-TIP [(877) 447-4847].
Further details can be found on the United States Attorney’s Office website for the Southern District of Florida or through related court documents available under case number 24-cr-80102.
