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MMA Fighter Dies By Apparent Suicide In Jail Hours After Admitting Possessing Child Porn
Travis Jon Fulton, an MMA fighter known as "The Ironman," was found dead in his cell hours after agreeing to plead guilty to possessing child porn.
A mixed martial arts fighter has died of apparent suicide in an Iowa jail hours after he agreed to plead guilty to child pornography charges.
Travis Jon Fulton, 44, was found dead in his cell early Saturday by Linn County Correctional Center staff conducting a routine cell check, according to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office. They noted that they believe he “hung himself.”
Lifesaving techniques were administered on Fulton and he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. His cause of death is still pending an autopsy and it is under investigation.
A day before his death, he filed paperwork in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child porn, The Gazette reports. At least one piece of child porn allegedly found on a flash drive he owned depicted a minor under the age of 12, ESPN reported in February when Fulton was arrested.
He did not plan to plead guilty to two other charges he has been indicted of: an alleged attempt to persuade a minor under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit content and an attempt to possess and transport child pornography across state lines. He allegedly tried to get the minor to "engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct" with a camera around November 2020, according to court paperwork obtained by ESPN.
The charges came as Fulton already faced pending willful injury and domestic assault charges after allegedly beating up a woman in September of 2019.
“The victim was afraid to talk to police, but her family members reported she said the defendant punched her in the head and back repeatedly,” a criminal complaint obtained by The Gazette states. “She sustained fractures to her jaw, nose, and palate and was seen at the University of Iowa Hospitals. He threatened to kill the victim and her family if she ever talked to the police.”
Fulton was nicknamed "The Ironman" in MMA for his record number of fights; he has been fighting since 1996.
