*UPDATE* Judge Says No To Throwing Out Evidence In Fulton Case

In February, we reported the long time Cedar Falls MMA fighter/boxer faces charges. Travis Jon Fulton was charged with sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child porn, and receipt of child porn. In a follow-up story at the end of March, a federal grand jury added a second count of sexual exploitation of a child.

On Wednesday, Fulton's attorneys tried to have evidence "thrown out" in his case. As reported by the WCF Courier, "attorneys for Travis Jon Fulton, 43, had argued that investigations went beyond the scope of a search warrant when they seized electronic devices in his home." 

The defense was working the "technicality angle"

As explained by the Courier, Fulton's lawyers said that during the investigation, "officers applied for a search warrant to include bedding, DNA, and electronic equipment, although the approved warrant that was signed by a state court judge only mentioned bedding and Fulton's DNA. According to court records, police also seized mail, four cell phones, SD cards, flash drives, two digital cameras, and a Toshiba storage device.

The judge wasn't having any part of it

The defense tried to suppress the results of the search, by saying that "none of the items seized other than the bedding was authorized by the search warrant order." As the Courier summarizes, "while the electronic items were inadvertently left off the original warrant, they were included in follow-up search warrants in the case that were signed by the same judge."

It was all a moot point anyway, ultimately, the federal judge turned down the defense motion because it was filed after the deadline.

Keep checking back here as this ongoing story continues to develop.

Background on Fulton

Fulton attended Cedar Falls high school and then started his MMA career in 1996. He is also a Golden Gloves boxer and owns a second-degree black belt in karate. Most recently, Fulton had been living in rural Parkersburg. He faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted.