Former Florida Gators quarterback Jalen Kitna spoke out Friday for the first time since being cleared on five felony pornography charges in early July.
Kitna, the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, issued a statement saying he had hoped the court outcome would prove his innocence, but that some people have continued “making judgments based only on the initial reports.”
“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 (via Gainesville.com). “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.”
Kitna was arrested in November on child pornography charges. That led the Gators to first suspend, then dismiss the second-year quarterback.
In early July, Kitna reached a plea agreement to plead guilty to two misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges. He received six months probation on each charge.
Kitna said after a thorough investigation by law enforcement, all of his electronic devices were returned. He had originally been flagged for sharing what officials mistakenly thought was an image of a minor.
“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.”
Kitna, who passed for 181 yards and a touchdown in four games for the Gators last season, has entered the transfer portal in a bid to continue his college career.
