Florida QB Jalen Kitna arrested for child pornography possession, dismissed from program

Football

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Image Credit: Courtney Culbreath, UAA

Florida Gators redshirt freshman quarterback Jalen Kitna, 19, was arrested Wednesday for possession of child pornography. The Gainesville Police Department is seeking five second-degree felony charges against Kitna for possession and promotion of obscene material involving children.

Kitna was initially suspended indefinitely by the Gators before being dismissed by the team Friday.

“We are shocked and saddened to hear of the news involving Jalen Kitna,” a Florida spokesperson said in an initial statement released by the program. “These are extremely serious charges and the University of Florida and the UAA have zero tolerance for such behavior. Jalen has been suspended indefinitely.”

The GPD executed a search warrant of Kitna’s residence Wednesday following a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that pointed to a Discord user distributing an unlawful image on the platform. An investigation that began in June tracked the location of that user uncovered that two such images were shared via Discord.

When interviewed by the case detective, Kitna allegedly admitted to sharing the images because he believed them to be “legal” given they were on the internet. He further explained to the detective that he soon realized his error based on reaction to the content he shared and the forceful deactivation of his Discord account. Upon seizing Kitna’s electronic devices, the GPD found three additional images. He was subsequently arrested on two counts of distribution and three counts of possession.

On Thursday, further details were released by the GPD, including that the images Kitna possessed included at least one of a “prepubescent girl having intercourse with an adult male” and two others of two such girls in a shower, according to the Associated Press.

Kitna posted $80,000 to bond out of Alachua County Jail on Thursday night. When making his court appearance, he wore a green suicide prevention vest, and he was visibly shaken throughout his hearing. The judge in the hearing ruled Kitna could not access the internet or have unsupervised contact with minors as conditions of his bond. He will return home to Texas while awaiting trial.

Kitna appeared in four games at Florida with his most significant action coming Oct. 2 against Eastern Washington where he threw for 152 yards and a touchdown. He started the season as the third-string quarterback but temporarily and then permanently supplanted redshirt freshman transfer Jack Miller III as the backup to sophomore Anthony Richardson after Miller missed the start of the season with a thumb injury.

With Richardson considering leaving the Gators and entering the 2023 NFL Draft, Kitna likely would have started Florida’s bowl game had Richardson decided to depart and chosen not to play.