Florida has removed quarterback Jalen Kitna from the roster following his arrest on child pornography charges.
The son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, he was arrested Wednesday and jailed on five counts of possessing and distributing child pornography. He was immediately suspended from the team.
His parents posted an $80,000 bond on Thursday to secure his release from Alachua County Jail. Jon and Jennifer Kitna assured Judge Meshon T. Rawls of the Eighth Judicial Circuit that their son would be in their custody and that he would return to the court for all subsequent proceedings.
Kitna, 19, was to return to his parents’ home in Burleson, Texas, where he played high school football. The judge barred him from using the internet or having unsupervised contact with minors.
While his parents were in court for Thursday’s hearing, Kitna appeared via closed-circuit video. He was wearing a suicide-prevention vest instead of a standard jail uniform and at one point cried as he buried his face in his hands during the proceedings.
He faces two second-degree felony charges for distribution of child exploitation material and three counts of possession of child pornography, which are third-degree felonies.
According to the Gainesville Police Department, police executed a search warrant on Kitna’s residence after receiving a tip that a Discord user at the address had shared an image of child sexual abuse through its platform. Kitna told police he remembered sharing two images but believed them to be legal since he found them online.
In a news release, the department said, “Kitna advised that he realized he should not have shared those two images, based on the reaction from the other Discord user that he shared them with.”
Kitna appeared in four games this season for the Gators, throwing for 181 yards and a touchdown behind starting QB Anthony Richardson.
–Field Level Media
