Content warning: This story involves allegations of criminal activity regarding child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Former Florida quarterback Jalen Kitna, who was dismissed from the program in Dec. 2022 following an arrest on multiple felony charges that were later dropped in a plea deal, intends to transfer to Alabama-Birmingham and has been admitted to the school, ESPN reported on Saturday.
Kitna was arrested on Nov. 30, 2022, on five felony charges related to child sexual abuse material (CSAM): Two second-degree counts of distribution of child exploitation material and three third-degree counts of possession of child pornography.
A search warrant was served by the Gainesville Police Department at Kitna's place of residence on the day of his arrest, after police received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding two images containing child sexual abuse material shared to the social media website Discord.
Police determined Kitna to be the probable owner of the account and uncovered five total images alleged to contain child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices, according to the arrest report.
Kitna admitted to sharing two images to Discord but stated his belief in their legality in an interview with Gainesville Police Department Detective Donna Montague on the day of his arrest, claiming he found the photographs online, the arrest report said.
Kitna posted an $80,000 bond on Dec. 1, 2022, to secure his release from Alachua County Jail. UF removed the quarterback from its football roster the next day.
Felony charges were ultimately dropped in July. At the time, Kitna pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to one year of probation by Alachua County Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Susan Miller-Jones. The terms of Kitna's probation were eventually reduced to six months, per ESPN.
In a prior statement, Kitna said that his plea of no contest was not an admission of guilt.
"I acknowledge that I made naive decisions that I deeply regret and have since learned from," Kitna said via ESPN on Saturday. "As a result, I took responsibility by pleading no-contest to second-degree misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges related to those decisions."
UAB head coach Trent Dilfer and athletic director Mark Ingram in a statement to ESPN claimed "extensive due diligence" was carried out amid Kitna's recruitment to the school and before accepting his transfer commitment.
"Initial headlines can be hard to get past, even if they don't hold up to the scrutiny of the legal process over time," said Dilfer.
"UAB and the Department of Athletics have performed extensive due diligence, and I have personally looked at the facts of this case and the thorough investigation, and I've had candid conversations with Jalen and his parents. I firmly believe Jalen learned valuable lessons and will carry himself well and show great character as a member of our community. Otherwise, he would not be at UAB."
Kitna, the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, spent two seasons with the Gators after signing with Florida out of Burleson (Texas) High in the recruiting class of 2021. He made four appearances as a redshirt freshman in 2022, completing 10-of-14 pass attempts for 181 yards and a touchdown in those games.
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