Florida quarterback Jalen Kitna was arrested Wednesday on felony counts of child pornography, according to Alachua County Jail records. Kitna was booked at 3:20 p.m. ET and has been scrubbed from the Gators' roster.
"We are shocked and saddened to hear of the news involving Jalen Kitna," a team spokesperson said in a statement. "These are extremely serious charges and the University of Florida and UAA have zero tolerance for such behavior. Jalen has been suspended indefinitely."
The Gainesville Police Department executed a search warrant on Kitna's residence based on tips that a Discord user had distributed an image of child sex abuse. The GPD will look to charge him with multiple second-degree felony counts of possession and promotion of obscene material.
Kitna admitted to police that he was in servers on Discord and Kik that engage in sexual abuse material, according to an arrest report obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. One of the images possessed by Kitna depicted a "prepubescent girl engaged in a sex act with an adult man." Three more images showed two nude pubescent juveniles in the shower.
Kitna, a redshirt freshman, played four games as the primary backup to Anthony Richardson this season. He threw 14 passes with 12 coming in the Gators' 52-17 victory over FCS Eastern Washington. Kitna was expected to compete for the starting quarterback job in 2023 if Richardson leaves early for the NFL Draft.
Kitna played high school football at Burleson High School in Texas. A three-star prospect in the Class of 2021, he picked Florida over offers from Boston College, Tennessee and Colorado. Kitna is the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, who played more than a decade in the NFL with several different teams.
