After being arrested in November on three counts of possessing child porn, and two charges of distributing child exploitation photos, former University of Florida quarterback Jalen Kitna accepted a plea agreement on Wednesday.
Kitna had the child pornography charges against him dropped after he entered a plea of no contest.
After their son was arrested in Burleson, Texas, his parents, Jon and Jennifer Kitna, assured Judge Meshon Rawls that they would keep an eye on him at home. Former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna now works as a high school coach in Burleson. Kitna played in the NFL for 14 years.
After Kitna’s arrest, the University of Florida promptly suspended him indefinitely. Only a few hours after Kitna’s initial court appearance, his name was removed from the Gators’ roster, and his biography was removed from their website.
In a statement, Jalen said the first thing he wanted to do was apologize to his loved ones and the people who care about him the most.
He said he appreciated all the love and prayers they’ve sent his way. He said he’s benefited much from the lessons he picked up during this ordeal and can’t wait to put those lessons to use and take the next step.
For each count, Kitna received a six-month probation sentence.
As for the crime, a photograph of child sexual assault was allegedly uploaded on the instant messaging networking platform Discord, which sparked an investigation that began in June after police got a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Kitna was revealed responsible for spreading the two photographs, but he claimed that he had thought they were “legal” because he had obtained them online.
On each of the two photos of a young woman, the words “so young junior” were printed. His phone included three additional images of two naked underage females showering.
Kitna was identified as the most likely person behind the account that posted the two graphic photographs of child sexual assault. According to the police, three more photos of young girls in their underwear were discovered on Kitna’s phone.
The son of the former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, and a sophomore at the time of the incident, will not be sentenced to requiring sex offender registration. He will not do jail time.
He received a year of probation with the possibility of having it lowered to six months based on his behavior.
