Travis Fulton, a record-holding mixed martial arts veteran, is facing federal child pornography charges.
Fulton was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday on three counts: sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child pornography and receipt of child pornography, per the indictment obtained by ESPN.
The federal case is being tried in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, Cedar Rapids Division. Fulton’s indictment was unsealed Friday. He has a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Fulton is facing up to 70 years in prison if convicted, according to Tony Morfitt, a spokesperson for the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, Sean R. Berry.
Jill Johnston, Fulton’s federal public defender, declined comment when reached Monday by ESPN.
Per the charging document, Fulton attempted to get a minor under the age of 18 to “engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct” with a Canon PowerShot camera in or around November 2020. Fulton also knowingly possessed or attempted to possess visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on a flash drive, including a depiction of a minor under 12 years old.
In addition, Fulton is being accused of receiving and attempting to receive child pornography via “interstate and foreign commerce,” per the charging document. The camera and flash drive were purchased outside the state of Iowa, elevating this to an alleged federal crime.
According to the Waterloo-Cedar Rapids Courier, Fulton was already awaiting trial on willful injury and domestic assault charges stemming from a September 2019 incident.
Fulton, 43, holds the MMA record for career professional fights with 320. He is nicknamed “The Ironman” in MMA for his record number of fights going back to 1996.
The Iowa native fought twice for the UFC in 1999, going 1-1. Fulton (255-54-10, 1 NC) last fought in April 2019 on an M-1 Global card in California.