Gators QB Jalen Kitna Charged With Child Porn Possession: Police

GAINESVILLE, FL — Jalen Kitna, a redshirt freshman quarterback with the Florida Gators, was arrested Wednesday and charged with multiple counts of child porn possession, according to authorities and reports.

Kitna, 19, was charged with two counts of distribution of child exploitation material and three counts of possession of child pornography after the Gainesville Police Department received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

According to police, the tip indicated that a Discord user distributed two images of child sexual abuse material using the platform, authorities said. An investigation by authorities linked the Discord account to Kitna, Gainesville police said.

Kitna was booked into the Alachua County Jail at 3:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sports Illustrated reported.

Kitna was also suspended from the football team indefinitely, according to a statement provided to The Associated Press by the University Athletic Association.

"We are shocked and saddened to hear of the news involving Jalen Kitna," UAA's 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."

According to police, authorities obtained a warrant and searched Kitna's home. They also interviewed Kitna, who said he remembered sharing the two images but believed they were "legal" since he found them online.

Kitna said he realized he should not have shared those two images based on the reaction of the user with whom he shared them, according to police. Kitna said his account was later deactivated and he assumed someone reported him to Discord; however, he later received an email from the platform stating that his account was deactivated due to a terms of service violation, authorities said.

According to police, authorities seized Kitna's electronic devices and later found three additional images of child sexual abuse material.

Kitna is the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna. He signed with Florida as a member of the 2021 recruiting class, Sports Illustrated reported, and emerged as a backup to Anthony Richardson during the 2022 season.