The backup quarterback for the University of Florida was arrested on child pornography charges and was expected to be released from jail on Thursday.
As a condition of Kitna's release, the judge set the bond and ordered him not to have any contact with children.
Kitna sobbed into his hands when his parents spoke to the court. Jon and Jennifer Kitna made a promise to their son back home in Burleson, Texas, when they stepped to a podium in the courtroom.
Jon Kitna held hands with his wife during their son's court appearance. When inmates are kept under close watch because of concerns about their welfare, they are usually given a green smock. He was shown in his booking photo in jailhouse attire.
He has a good family. His family supports him. One of Kitna's attorneys said that he was going to be taken care of.
The arrest report for Kitna was released by the police department.
The investigation began in June with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Authorities went to Kitna after the investigation ended.
Kitna shared a picture of a girl being abused by a man. The phrase "so young junior" was written on one of the girls. Kitna believed the pictures were legal because he found them online.
According to the report, police found three more nude girls in the shower on Kitna's phone. The images were saved to his phone. The report didn't say how old the girls were.
The attorney argued that the images could be considered child erotica if they were released with no monetary bond.
According to the arrest report, Kitna told police that he had been in other messaging groups on at least one other social media platform.
Kitna's account was deleted because of a violation of the terms of service.
"Discord has a zero-tolerance policy for child sexual abuse, which does not have a place on our platform or anywhere in society," a spokesman for the company said in a statement. We ban the users responsible and engage with the proper authorities if we find and remove this content.
A prison term of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000 is possible if two of the five arresting charges are second-degree felonies. Three of them are third degree felonies.
Kitna is being represented by two attorneys, one of which has a history of taking on high-profile athletes.
Kitna played in four games for the Gators. He threw for 181 yards and a touchdown.
Kitna played in the National Football League for Seattle, Cincinnati, Detroit and Dallas. He's a high school coach in Burleson, just south of Fort Worth.
The AP contributed.
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