University of Florida Gators backup quarterback Jalen Kitna was launched from jail on $80,000 bond Thursday, a day after he was arrested on 5 youngster pornography expenses that police stated included photos of a person having intercourse with a younger woman.
Judge Meshon Rawls set the bond and as circumstances for Kitna’s launch ordered him to not have any unsupervised contact with minors and to not have any web entry.
Alachua County Jail/AP
Kitna sobbed into his fingers when his mother and father, together with his father — former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna — addressed the courtroom throughout a 75-minute look. Jalen Kitna was on the Alachua County Jail and on a closed-circuit feed when Jon and Jennifer Kitna stepped to a podium within the courtroom and promised they might supervise their 19-year-old son again house in Burleson, Texas.
Jon Kitna tapped his toes repeatedly and held fingers with Jennifer all through their son’s first courtroom look. Jalen Kitna donned a inexperienced smock — totally different from the striped pants and tops different inmates put on — sometimes given to these being stored below shut watch due to issues about their welfare. His reserving photograph confirmed him in regular jailhouse apparel.
“He’s got a great family. He’s got good family support. He’s going to be well taken care of,” one among Kitna’s attorneys, Caleb Kenyon, stated exterior the courthouse.
The Gainesville Police Department launched Kitna’s arrest report Thursday, offering graphic particulars in regards to the complaints filed in opposition to the now-suspended soccer participant.
The investigation started in June with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children into photos of kid pornography being shared on the social media platform Discord. The investigation led authorities to Kitna.
Kitna shared two photos of a pubescent woman, police stated within the report, including that the phrase “so young junior” was written on each photos. Kitna instructed a detective he thought they had been authorized as a result of he discovered them on-line.
When police searched Kitna’s cellphone, they discovered three extra photos of two nude pubescent women within the bathe, in accordance with the report. Those three photos had been saved to his cellphone final December, police stated. The report didn’t estimate the ages of the women.
Kenyon, the lawyer, argued that Kitna ought to be launched with no financial bond and instructed that these three photos may very well be thought-about youngster erotica as an alternative of kid porn.
Kitna additionally instructed police he had been in different messaging teams on at the very least one different social media platform that distributed comparable materials, in accordance with the arrest report.
Discord had beforehand deactivated Kitna’s account due to a violation of the phrases of service, police stated.
“Discord has a zero-tolerance policy for child sexual abuse, which does not have a place on our platform or anywhere in society,” a Discord spokesperson stated in a press release launched to The Associated Press. “We work relentlessly to find and remove this abhorrent content and take action including banning the users responsible and engaging with the proper authorities.”
Two of the 5 arresting expenses, which nonetheless must be formalized by the state lawyer’s workplace, are second-degree felonies that would end in a jail time period of as much as 15 years and a positive of as much as $10,000. The different three are third-degree felonies.
Kitna is also being represented by Gainesville lawyer Ron Kozlowski in addition to famous Jacksonville lawyer Hank Coxe, who has a historical past of taking up instances involving high-profile athletes.
Following his arrest, Kitna was suspended indefinitely from the Gators’ soccer program. He appeared in 4 video games as a redshirt freshman for the Gators this season. He accomplished 10 of his 14 passes for 181 yards and a landing.
Jon Kitna performed 14 seasons within the NFL with Seattle, Cincinnati, Detroit and Dallas. He began 124 video games and now could be a highschool coach in Burleson, simply south of Fort Worth.
