Abel Trujillo pleads guilty to misdemeanour in child sexual exploitation case

Former lightweight fighter, Abel Trujillo has accepted a plea deal to avoid felony charges for child sexual exploitation in Castle Rock, Colorado.

The 36-year old’s arrest was first reported by 9News in Colorado in 2019 after court documents regarding his case were released. He was initially charged with promotion of obscenity to a minor, attempted sexual exploitation of a child and sexual exploitation of a child (self/publish). He eventually agreed to plead guilty on one charge of a misdemeanour of promoting obscenity, the other felonies were dismissed, according to court documents.

The initial arrest took place in July 2019 following inappropriate messages he exchanged on social media with a minor.

Investigators from Castle Rock were informed that the alleged victim had received multiple inappropriate messages from an adult man. The suspect was later identified as Trujillo after the victim stated that she received a request from the athlete on Instagram. She accepted in part because Trujillo “is a celebrity.”

The victim told police she initially enjoyed the attention from the adult and his position as an MMA veteran in the UFC. In the affidavit, it states the victim “became uncomfortable with what was being discussed,” and revealed that the athlete had sent her nude photographs. She eventually blocked him on social media and deleted any photos and messages, but was contacted by the fighter several months later. She stated that she never asked for the nude photos and told him multiple times to stop.

As a result, a search warrant was granted to search the contents of Trujillo’s phone. It was discovered “he had multiple conversations with females under the age of 18” including sending nude photos. Although no photos sent to the victim included the athlete’s face, they were able to corroborate his identity through “the body style, tattoos and skin tone”.

Now Abel Trujillo could face up to 18 months in jail and a $5000 fine. He sentencing is scheduled to take place on April 6, 2020.