San Angelo Man Pleas Guilty to Sexual Assault of Child, Gets 2 Years

A San Angelo man pled guilty to sexual assault of a child Tuesday afternoon in the 51^st District Court.

Joshua Gene Fulton was 22 years old on Oct. 17, 2014 when he was accused of having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl. Court records indicate that the child became pregnant as a result of the incident.

A Tom Green County Grand Jury indicted Fulton Feb. 2, 2015 and he was arrested Feb. 11 of last year. He has been in pretrial custody since, for a little over a year.

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Above: Joshua Fulton (TGCJ)

Fulton appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit along with leg shackles and handcuffs Tuesday afternoon. As he was seated next to his defense attorney Shawntell McKillop, Judge Brock Jones, who was sitting in for Judge Barbara Walther, asked him if he understood the charges against him?

“Yes sir,” Fulton mumbled.

“I can’t hear you. Speak up,” the judge ordered.

“Yes sir!” Fulton said, this time louder.

Fulton and his attorney arranged a plea bargain with Assistant District Attorney Ashley Knight. Facing a sentence of 2-20 years in the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice and a fine up to $10,000, Fulton was offered two years in the TDCJ Institutional Division with credit for the year he has already served in the Tom Green County Jail.

As part of the bargain, the DA also agreed to refuse to indict Fulton on a second Sexual Assault of a Child offense. The judge said it was dated Sept 1, 2014.

The court ordered a psychological evaluation of Fulton that was completed in Dec. 2015 to determine if he was mentally competent to stand trial. The evaluation determined that he was.

After his plea of guilty and sentencing Tuesday afternoon, Fulton was led out of the courtroom and back to the Tom Green County Jail to await incarceration by the TDCJ.

In the courtroom, an older bearded gentleman and two women, who appeared to be associated with the defendant, watched intently. Outside the courthouse, when asked if they were with the victim, the bearded man replied, “There was no victim here.” He refused any further conversation.