Florida fires QB Jalen Kitna after his arrest
Photo: Galen Kitna. Alex Shepard
ModernizationRedshirt freshman: Florida quarterback turned down Galen Kitna Friday. His name is no longer on the Gators’ roster.
UF has previously suspended Kitna indefinitely after he was arrested Wednesday on five preliminary felony counts of possession and distribution of child pornography.
“We are shocked and saddened to hear the news regarding Jalen Kitna,” a statement from the UF Athletic Association said Wednesday. “These are very serious charges and the University of Florida and the North American Federation do not tolerate such behavior.”
Modernization: Florida Gators redshirt quarterback Jalen Kitna posted an $80,000 bond, depending to Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel, and he was released from the Alachua County Jail Thursday night.
Kitna is no longer listed as “in custody,” according to the Alachua County Circuit Court, and his profile has been removed from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office inmate search.
Kitna’s bail was set Thursday during his first court appearance. He faces five primary counts of child pornography: two counts of second degree of distribution of child exploitation material and three counts of third degree of possession of child pornography.
Modernization: Florida Gators redshirt quarterback Jalen Kitna He made his first appearance in Alachua County court Thursday after being arrested Wednesday on five preliminary felony counts of possession and distribution of child pornography.
Kitna appeared via a video stream from the Alachua County Jail. His parents, John and Jennifer Kitna, and her pastor were present at the court.
According to WUFT-Gainesville, Kitna’s bail was set at $80,000 despite pleas from his attorney, Caleb Kenyon, to release Kitna without bail, claiming that no individual was a direct victim of Kitna’s alleged actions.
Kitna previously admitted to sharing two images containing child sexual abuse material on the social networking site Discord in an interview with Gainesville Police Department Detective Donna Montague. A search warrant on Kitna on Wednesday led to the discovery of three additional images of child sexual abuse material in his possession after initial analysis of Kitna’s electronic devices.
Rawls, an Alachua County court judge, denied Kenyon’s request and ordered Kitna to have no Internet use and no unsupervised contact with minors.
If convicted of the charges — the district attorney’s office will determine whether or not to formally file criminal charges in the coming weeks, after reading initial charges of three counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of distribution of child exploitation material — Kitna faces up to 45 years in prison and $35,000 in fines.
Officials said Kitna was wearing a sleeveless dark green dress that indicated he was suicidal during his appearance.
Scroll to continue
Modernization: Florida Gators redshirt quarterback Jalen Kitna He was charged Wednesday with three counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of distributing child exploitation materials, the latter two counts of second-degree felonies, according to a statement from the Gainesville Police Department.
According to the police statement, a search warrant was served at Kitna’s residence in Gainesville Wednesday morning after receiving electronic information from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Additional investigations by Gainesville Police Department Detective Donna Montague revealed two images containing child sexual abuse material shared on the social networking site Discord from Kitna’s address. The investigation also revealed that the potential Discord account holder is Kitna.
Kitna electronics were seized as part of the search warrant. Three additional images of child sexual abuse material were discovered upon initial analysis of those devices.
UF’s College Athletic Association issued the following statement Wednesday afternoon, acknowledging Kitna’s indefinite suspension from the program.
“We are shocked and saddened to hear the news regarding Jalen Kitna. These are very serious charges and the University of Florida and UAA do not tolerate such behavior.
“Jalen has been suspended indefinitely from the football program.”
Freshman Florida Gators quarterback Jalen Kitna is booked into the Alachua County Jail at 3:20 PM ET on Wednesday, November 30.
The charges for Kitna’s arrest were not immediately disclosed.
Kitna, the son of a former NFL quarterback John Kitnasigned with Florida as a member of the 2021 recruiting class. He didn’t hit the field during his true freshman, but appeared as a backup to starting signal caller Anthony Richardson During the 2022 season, appearing in four games and completing 10 of 14 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown.
Kitna notably entered a crucial point in the first half against FSU when Richardson was sidelined for a few plays with an injury.
The backup kept the drive alive in Richardson’s absence—though not recording a pass—as he was on the field for two down conversions and rushed six yards of his own to drive the ball into the red zone. That set up a go-ahead touchdown pass on Richardson’s return to take a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
The Burleson (Texas) high school product was expected to at least compete for a starting spot this season as a result, should Richardson opt out of the NFL Draft, along with a redshirt sophomore. Jack Miller IIIreal freshman Max BrownFreshman incoming quarterback Jaden Rashad and add a potential transfer portal.
This story will be updated as more details emerge.
Stay tuned All cametorupee For ongoing coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow us on social media @AllGatorsOnUN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook.
Get your Gators tickets for football, basketball, and other sporting events from SI Tickets here.
#Florida #fires #Jalen #Kitna #arrest