A dentist in Colorado was arrested at an airport in Florida after allegedly flying there to meet a mother and her 8-year-old daughter for sex, according to multiple news reports published on August 13.
Dr. Jason Atha. Image courtesy of the ADA.
On August 9, Dr. Jason Atha, who practices at Alpine Dentistry in Boulder, CO, was taken into police custody after arriving at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida. He was charged with enticement. On August 13, Atha remained in U.S. custody in Florida.
In October 2023, Atha reportedly began chatting on an app with a woman he thought was the mother of an 8-year-old girl but who was really a U.S. Department of Homeland Security undercover special agent.
As the months followed, Atha and the U.S. agent purportedly traded sexually explicit messages. In July, the dentist allegedly made plans to travel to Florida for what he thought was a meetup with the mother and child.
The day before he arrived at the airport, Atha reportedly said that he bought condoms and chocolate-flavored lubrication in preparation for his encounter with the girl and her mother, according to news reports.
When Atha was taken into custody by U.S. authorities, the dentist allegedly admitted to the messages he sent to the undercover agent but claimed he wasn't going to have sex with the 8-year-old. Additionally, he reportedly admitted to having child pornography on his phone. U.S. agents confirmed this was true after getting a warrant and searching the dentist's phone, according to news reports.
