Florida Gators quarterback Jalen Kitna has been arrested on Wednesday. He is being charged with multiple counts of child pornography.
Kitna, 19, was booked into the Alachua County Jail and given two counts of distribution of child exploitation and three counts of possession of child pornography. Both crimes are considered felonies.
The charges allegedly stem from images shared through Kitna’s Discord account. According to police, Kitna admitted to sharing the images. However, he claims that he thought the people in the images were of legal age since he found them online. Afterward, Kitna told detectives that his Discord account was reported and deactivated shortly after. He said that he received an email from Discord saying that his account violated the terms of service.
The Gainesville Police Department obtained a search warrant for Kitna’s home, where his electronic devices were seized. The police also said they had found three additional images depicting the sexual abuse of minors.
Upon the news of the arrest, the University of Florida released a statement saying that Jalen Kitna is suspended from the team indefinitely.
“We are shocked and saddened to hear of the news involving Jalen Kitna,” the statement read. “These are extremely serious charges and the University of Florida and the UAA have zero tolerance for such behavior. Jalen has been suspended indefinitely from the football program.”
Authorities executed a search of Florida QB Jalen Kitna’s apartment with cause that it contained evidence of (1) child porn & (2) distribution of child porn.
Kitna has been booked in the county jail on child porn charges.
UF has suspended him, per statement to @SINow (below) pic.twitter.com/oSX0DjOSQ7
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 30, 2022
Jalen Kitna is the son of Jon Kitna, a former NFL quarterback from 1997-2011.
Kitna was a redshirt freshman who won the second-string position behind starter Anthony Richardson. He appeared in four games this season. Most recently, he appeared in Florida’s last game of the season against rival Florida State. He was expected to compete for the starting job next season in a crowded quarterback room, pending Richardson’s decision to enter the NFL Draft.
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