Former Florida QB Jalen Kitna breaks silence after being cleared of child porn charges
One month after being cleared on five felony pornography charges, former Florida football quarterback Jalen Kitna released a statement saying the counts filed against him were baseless.
"Out of respect to the legal process I have chosen to remain silent the last 8 months, knowing the accusations levied against me as a teenager were not accurate and would be proven to be not true," Kitna said in the statement. "The extensive six-month long investigation brought the prosecution to the conclusion I knew all along this was not a child pornography case.
"I had hoped this outcome would exonerate me and provide understanding. The reaction has been quite the opposite and created even more confusion with people making judgments based only on the initial reports, which didn't tell the whole story."
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Kitna pleaded no contest to two counts of breach of peace last July in connection to his arrest last November for child pornography. Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Susan Miller-Jones gave the 20-year-old Kitna six months of probation for each count. Assistant State Attorney Brooke King accepted the plea deal.
In the statement, Kitna said he accepted the plea deal to move on with his life as a 20-year-old and pursue his college degree and college football career. Kitna also said his campus ban at UF has been lifted.
"The misdemeanor plea of 'no contest' is not an admission of guilt and I was not adjudicated by the court, meaning there was no conviction," Kitna said. "The police have returned all my devices, because they contain no illegal material."
Kitna was arrested on Nov. 30 on two counts of distribution of child exploitation material and three counts of possession of child pornography. Off a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the State Attorney's offense contended that Kitna both possessed and distributed images of pubescent and pre-pubescent juveniles. He was dismissed from the Florida football team on Dec. 2.
Jalen Kitna said he cooperated with authorities
Kitna said he cooperated with authorities before he was arrested, sharing his passwords and hiding nothing.
"They told me an image I shared online was potentially of an underage female," Kitna said. "I was shocked, because I had found it on an easily accessible, legal site, and I was never looking for illegal material. The photo included only a portion of the female body. I had no reason to believe the photo might be illegal."
Kitna said a thorough six-month investigation by the State Attorney's Office, which included forensic testing of his devices, found no other questionable images.
"This investigation found no other images that were even questionable: No photos, no videos, no chats, no searches for inappropriate material, not one illegal activity," Kitna said. "The State determined the items police originally arrested me for should not be prosecuted either, either because the people depicted appeared to be of age or because it was not clear."
In addition, Kitna said he underwent an extensive psychosexual evaluation by doctors that showed no deviant characteristics.
"I know I did not commit the crime people assumed and maybe believed. I have learned the lesson of how quickly naive decisions can lead to catastrophic consequences," Kitna said. "I'm sorry my family and friends have had to go through this unimaginable eight months, their love and support throughout has been humbling and encouraging."
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Former Florida Gators QB Jalen Kitna breaks silence after plea deal
