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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida backup quarterback Jalen Kitna was launched from jail on $80,000 bond Thursday, a day after he was arrested on 5 youngster pornography fees.
Choose 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. Kitna sobbed into his arms when his mother and father, together with former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, addressed the court docket 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 ft repeatedly and held arms with Jennifer all through their son’s first court docket look. Jalen Kitna donned a inexperienced smock — totally different from the striped pants and tops different inmates put on — sometimes given to these being saved beneath shut watch due to considerations about their welfare. His reserving photograph confirmed him in regular jailhouse apparel.
“He is acquired an important household. He is acquired good household help. He will be effectively taken care of,” certainly one of Kitna’s attorneys, Caleb Kenyon, mentioned outdoors the courthouse.
The Gainesville Police Division launched Kitna’s arrest report Thursday, offering graphic particulars concerning the complaints filed towards the now-suspended soccer participant.
The investigation started in June with a tip from the Nationwide Middle for Lacking and Exploited Youngsters into photos of kid pornography being shared on the social media platform Discord. The investigation led authorities to Kitna.
One of many photos shared by Kitna was of a prepubescent woman being sexually abused by a person. The phrase “so younger junior” was written on that image, and one other of a pubescent woman. Kitna advised a detective he thought the images had been authorized as a result of he discovered them on-line.
When police searched Kitna’s telephone, they discovered three extra photos of two nude pubescent ladies within the bathe, in accordance with the report. These three photos had been saved to his cellphone final December, police mentioned. The report didn’t estimate the ages of the women.
Kenyon, the legal professional, argued that Kitna ought to be launched with no financial bond and recommended that these three photos may very well be thought of youngster erotica as a substitute of kid porn.
Kitna additionally advised police he had been in different messaging teams on no less than 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 mentioned.
“Discord has a zero-tolerance coverage for youngster sexual abuse, which doesn’t have a spot on our platform or wherever in society,” a Discord spokesperson mentioned in an announcement launched to The Related Press. “We work relentlessly to seek out and take away this abhorrent content material and take motion together with banning the customers accountable and fascinating with the right authorities.”
Two of the 5 arresting fees, which nonetheless must be formalized by the state legal professional’s workplace, are second-degree felonies that would end in a jail time period of as much as 15 years and a superb of as much as $10,000. The opposite three are third-degree felonies.
Kitna is also being represented by Gainesville legal professional Ron Kozlowski in addition to famous Jacksonville legal professional Hank Coxe, who has a historical past of taking up instances involving high-profile athletes.
Kitna 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’s a highschool coach in Burleson, simply south of Fort Price.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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