Gators’ Kitna leaves jail as details of case emerge
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida backup quarterback Jalen Kitna was released from jail on $80,000 bond Thursday, a day after he was arrested on five child pornography charges.
Judge Meshon Rawls set the bond and as conditions for Kitna’s release ordered him not to have any unsupervised contact with minors and not to have any internet access. Kitna sobbed into his hands when his parents, including former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, addressed the court during a 75-minute appearance. Jalen Kitna was at the Alachua County Jail and on a closed-circuit feed when Jon and Jennifer Kitna stepped to a podium in the courtroom and promised they would supervise their 19-year-old son back home in Burleson, Texas.
Jon Kitna tapped his feet repeatedly and held hands with Jennifer throughout their son’s first court appearance. Jalen Kitna donned a green smock — different from the striped pants and tops other inmates wear — typically given to those being kept under close watch because of concerns about their welfare. His booking photo showed him in normal jailhouse attire.
“He’s got a great family. He’s got good family support. He’s going to be well taken care of,” one of Kitna’s attorneys, Caleb Kenyon, said outside the courthouse.
The Gainesville Police Department released Kitna’s arrest report Thursday, providing graphic details about the complaints filed against the now-suspended football player.
The investigation began in June with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children into images of child pornography being shared on the social media platform Discord. The investigation led authorities to Kitna.
One of the images shared by Kitna was of a prepubescent girl being sexually abused by a man. The phrase “so young junior” was written on that picture, and another of a pubescent girl. Kitna told a detective he thought the pictures were legal because he found them online.
When police searched Kitna’s phone, they found three more images of two nude pubescent girls in the shower, according to the report. Those three images were saved to his cellphone last December, police said. The report did not estimate the ages of the girls.
Kenyon, the attorney, argued that Kitna should be released with no monetary bond and suggested that those three images could be considered child erotica instead of child porn.
Kitna also told police he had been in other messaging groups on at least one other social media platform that distributed similar material, according to the arrest report.
Discord had previously deactivated Kitna’s account because of a violation of the terms of service, police said.
“Discord has a zero-tolerance policy for child sexual abuse, which does not have a place on our platform or anywhere in society,” a Discord spokesperson said in a statement released to The Associated Press. “We work relentlessly to find and remove this abhorrent content and take action including banning the users responsible and engaging with the proper authorities.”
Two of the five arresting charges, which still need to be formalized by the state attorney’s office, are second-degree felonies that could result in a prison term of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000. The other three are third-degree felonies.
Kitna also is being represented by Gainesville attorney Ron Kozlowski as well as noted Jacksonville attorney Hank Coxe, who has a history of taking on cases involving high-profile athletes.
Kitna appeared in four games as a redshirt freshman for the Gators this season. He completed 10 of his 14 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown.
Jon Kitna played 14 seasons in the NFL with Seattle, Cincinnati, Detroit and Dallas. He started 124 games and now is a high school coach in Burleson, just south of Fort Worth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — Brayden Schenn played his 1,000th regular-season NHL game when he and the St. Louis Blues beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Thursday night.
Older brother Luke played his 1,000th game Oct. 17 with the Nashville Predators. The Schenns are the eighth set of brothers to each reach that milestone and the first to do so in the same season.
“I’ve always said you don’t get there without the help of tons of people,” Brayden said after his team’s morning skate. “Family being one and coaches and players and teammates and people in the organization. Obviously, you have to embrace the day-to-day grind of the ups and downs and just how hard this league is, but, yeah, pretty special that we have best buddies that push each other every day and get to do it in the same year.”
Blues players celebrated the occasion with Schenn shirts and hats with the captain’s No. 10 on them. Father Jeff gave a pregame speech in the locker room after coach Jim Montgomery said, “Schenner and his bro both getting 1,000 games in the same season is a tribute to the great family raised by Jeff and his wife.”
Jeff Schenn said Brayden was his favorite player on the Blues and tied for his favorite overall, of course, with Luke.
“Honored and privileged and very proud to be part of the big day and the big journey that goes along with it,” their dad said. “You see the hard work and the dedication and the bumps and the bruises and everything you guys put into it. … Just so excited and happy to be here and awful proud of him.”
Montgomery said after the win that Jeff Schenn looked very comfortable speaking in front of the group.
“Jeff and his wife, Brayden’s parents, they raised four great kids and two have played 1,000 games in the NHL,” Montgomery said. “His message was well-received, and you could tell by our start that we wanted to play for our captain.”
Dylan Holloway, who scored twice, said because it was Schenn’s 1,000th game, the Blues “wanted this one bad.”
The Capitals acknowledged the milestone with a message on arena videoboards and an announcement during the first period.
Brayden getting to 1,000 comes amid talk ahead of the March 7 trade deadline that teams are interested in acquiring both of them in separate moves. The Blues are on the fringe of the playoff race in the Western Conference, while the Predators are far out of contention.
“The times I’ve gotten traded, I didn’t expect to get traded, so you really never know,” Brayden said, adding he has loved his time with St. Louis. “It’s a business and that just comes with the flows of kind of where we’re positioned, five points out of the playoffs. But it’s the trade deadline, so some people make rumors. … You just take it a day at a time and just focus on your game and play.”
Brayden, 33, has three years left on his contract at an annual salary cap hit of $6.5 million. Luke, 35, has one more season left after this one at $2.75 million.
The Schenn brothers have played together in the NHL before, spending 3½ seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013 to 2015. Brayden won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, then Luke back to back with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
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