Florida's Jalen Kitna Enters Transfer Portal After Being Cleared From Felony Charges For Child Pornography Allegations
Former Florida Gators QB Jalen Kitna, 20, will test his luck in the NCAA transfer portal, days after agreeing to a plea deal concerning multiple counts of possessing and distributing child pornography.
Kitna, son of ex-Bengals QB Jon Kitna, was arrested on Nov. 30 for sharing racy photos of two underaged girls on Discord. Police later found salacious images of young women on his phone.
Announced Monday, Kitna is hitting the transfer portal following his stint with the Gators.
Gators quarterback Jalen Kitna lines up for a play during the game between Florida and Florida State. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
On Wednesday (July 5), Kitna agreed to a plea deal to eliminate any felony charges against the college QB. Kitna will not have to register as a sex offender and will avoid paying fines. He will serve a year and six months of probation.
As reported by OutKick's Grayson Weir, " Head coach Billy Napier and the Gators removed from the roster shortly after the Gainesville Police Department arrested the quarterback on two counts of distribution of child exploitation material and three counts of possession of child pornography."
It's difficult to imagine a school taking on a massive PR headache by bringing on Kitna. At Florida, Kitna was expected to compete for the starting job in 2024 but was derailed by the controversy. To bolster their depth chart, the Gators brought on former Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz to potentially succeed Anthony Richardson in Gainesville.
Kitna released a statement following the dropped charges last week:
"I want to start off by apologizing to my family, my friends and those that care about me. Their support through this whole ordeal has meant a lot to me. The hardest thing about this whole process has been seeing how it’s affected them.
"The valuable lessons that I’ve learned through this whole deal have been very helpful. I’m looking forward to applying those things and moving forward."