A dentist in Colorado arrested at a Florida airport after allegedly flying there to meet a mother and her 8-year-old daughter for sex was sentenced on March 11 to 15 years in prison, according to multiple news stories published on March 11.
Also, Dr. Jason Atha, who practiced at Alpine Dentistry in Boulder, CO, was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release. In December 2024, Atha, 51, pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor and transportation of child pornography.
In August 2024, Atha was taken into police custody after arriving at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida and charged with enticement.
In October 2023, Atha reportedly began chatting on a social media 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 minor.
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 mother and daughter.
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 found the child pornography videos after getting a warrant and searching the dentist's phone, according to the release.
