GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Former Florida quarterback Jalen Kitna, the son of retired NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, accepted a plea deal on Wednesday that dismissed five charges of criminal child pornography stemming from his arrest last November.
Kitna instead pleaded guilty to two counts of disorderly conduct, second-degree misdemeanors.
Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Susan Miller-Jones placed Kitna on six-month probation on each count, but did not impose a fine or require the 20-year-old to register as a sex offender .
Kitna, with his mother and father seated behind him, read a statement of contrition.
“I want to start by apologizing to my family, friends and those who care about me,” Kitna said. “Their support throughout this ordeal meant a lot to me. The hardest thing about this whole process was seeing how it affected them.
“The valuable lessons I learned throughout this transaction have been very helpful. I look forward to applying these things and moving forward.
The Gainesville Police Department arrested Kitna on November 30, 2022 on five counts of child pornography – two counts of distributing child exploitative materials and three counts of possession of child pornography.
Police say Kitna shared two images of sexually abused young girls via a social media platform. Officers later searched her phone and found three more images of two naked young girls in the shower – photos that had been saved on Kitna’s phone a year earlier. The report did not estimate the girls’ ages.
The Gators fired Kitna from the team days after his arrest. Kitna returned home with his family to Burleson, Texas, after posting bail and taking online classes last spring. The university banned him from campus until November 2025.
“What we have here today is a fair result and the right result,” Kitna attorney Ron Kozlowski told the Orlando Sentinel after the verdict. “Obviously the state is on board, and we feel good about that. This is going to give Jalen the opportunity to take the next step, whatever it is.
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