Jason Atha, a dentist with a practice in Boulder, Colorado, was arrested last week in West Palm Beach, Florida, before he allegedly admitted to federal agents his plan to meet with a woman and her nine-year-old daughter for sexual acts and also admitted that he had child pornography on his phone.

A federal criminal complaint describes the process that led to Atha’s arrest: An undercover agent with Homeland Security Investigations Palm Beach “assumed the role of an adult mother with a supposed 8-year-old daughter” and began “monitoring numerous chat rooms, including those set up for individuals to discuss their interests in ‘taboo’ sex, family incest, child pornography and the like, in order to combat the sexual abuse of children and the distribution of child pornography.”

There, on October 3, 2023, she began speaking with a person later identified by authorities as Atha. When she said she had an 8-year-old daughter, the person responded, “Nice!” He then allegedly asked, “What do you guys do?” before the undercover agent, or UC, said, “We play.” Atha allegedly told her, “I’d like to find a mother and daughter to play with.”

As their conversations continued, he allegedly began asking questions such as, “Have you found anyone who wants to play with the two of you?”, “When did you start playing?”, “So has she accepted it, does she like it?” and the girl’s name. When the UC said the child enjoyed her “playtime,” he allegedly said, “This is a beautiful thing. I would sooo love to be a part of this… seriously, seriously. I’ve had so many opportunities that I thought I would be, but when it came down to it, I was turned down.”

Their conversations then became extremely explicit, as he allegedly detailed what he intended to do with the couple sexually. In the documents, he is quoted as asking if the child could wear makeup – “lipstick would be good” and that the girl should look like she was “going out for a night on the town or something.” At one point, he is also said to have asked if the girl could “wear something that’s not quite as age-appropriate,” such as “short shorts and a crop top.”

As planning continued between the two, Atha reportedly expressed that he was “very nervous but serious” about the meeting. “In my head, I get there and the police are waiting for me,” he reportedly said months before the actual meeting. According to the documents, the pair denied being police officers to each other before he later said he was “glad” that he would be the girls’ first male sexual experience.

He also sent the agent photos of himself that matched photos on Alpine Dentistry’s public website in Boulder, which have since been edited.

The documents quote him as saying he was an “online pervert,” child pornography, and hoped the arrangement with the woman and her daughter would be “not just a one-time thing.” He also repeatedly demanded that the mother tell the child details of her plans, and UC said the girl became “excited.” As the conversations continued, the agent told Atha that her daughter had turned 9.

On July 11, 2024, Atha allegedly told the agent that he had purchased tickets to West Palm Beach and sent a screenshot of his August 9 itinerary.

On August 9, he then flew to West Palm Beach, where, according to the documents, he met the agent at baggage claim. She allegedly claimed they could pick up the child from a friend’s house – before they were handcuffed by waiting agents in the parking lot.

“In the back seat of the car, ATHA spontaneously asked how this could have happened, how anyone could have known about their conversations, and stated that it was just going to be a fun weekend with Child 1,” the documents state. Atha also allegedly waived his Miranda rights and “admitted that he flew to Florida to watch UC have sex with Child 1.”

“Atha admitted that he had all the conversations with the UC that involved having sex with Child 1, but denied that he actually intended to have sex with Child 1,” authorities said.

An app stored on his computer “proved his participation in numerous father-daughter and taboo chat rooms as well as his possession of child pornography.”

He was charged with seduction of minors. Neither he nor his lawyer commented on the case, and Atha faces a minimum sentence of 10 years if convicted.