A recent Lafayette College alumnus was sentenced to prison for charges of child pornography in a court hearing on Sept. 6 following a guilty plea.
Benjamin Kitson ‘24 graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering last spring. He will serve up to 23 months in the Chester County Prison, according to court records.
On Sept. 26, just four months after his graduation, Kitson was officially registered as a sex offender.
Kitson was affiliated with the college’s Delta Tau Delta Nu chapter while he was a student.
“I just immediately felt sick,” said Michael Roberts ‘26, the chapter president, who was informed of the arrest after another alumnus sent him the Daily Local News article.
According to the Daily Local News, the case first began in July 2020 when Chester County Detective Gerald Davis of the Child Abuse Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It warned that someone had uploaded pornographic images of children to their Tumblr social media account.
“The charges had to deal with actions that were taken long before he ever went to your college,” said Kitson’s defense attorney Evan Kelly in a phone call with The Lafayette.
At the onset of the investigation, Kitson had just graduated from Unionville High School. It was not until March of 2023, however, that he was finally approached by state troopers, according to the Daily Local News.
Kelly explained that these types of investigations take longer due to the lengthy process of retrieving forensic evidence from devices like cell phones.
“It takes them a while,” he said of the police. “Especially when you’re dealing with different jurisdictions.”
The Daily News reports state trooper Jason Sperazza first tracked the internet address to Kitson’s house in Pocopson, Pennsylvania, but later determined Kitson was away at college. After trying to locate Kitson on campus, police discovered he was gone for a study abroad trip.
Upon confrontation, Kitson reportedly gave a “full confession,” according to the Daily Local News.
“I had a rough go of it at the end of high school,” he told the Daily Local News, adding that pornography “led me down a dark path that I now regret.”
Kitson’s new cellphone, which was purchased before going to college, was searched before his arrest. It was not found to contain child pornography, according to the Daily Local News.
Roberts and other members of Kitson’s former fraternity first heard of the arrest on Sunday.
“I didn’t personally know Ben Kitson that well, but I just really couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Roberts said.
“That day, during the chapter meeting, I informed everyone of what happened,” he continued.
According to Roberts, no one in the fraternity was aware of the investigation surrounding Kitson. The fraternity is currently in the process of revoking Kitson’s affiliation status and has contacted its chapter advisor and consultant. Kitson’s change in status ultimately falls on what the national chapter decides.
“The chapter and, obviously, our national organizations as well, consider this absolutely reprehensible,” Roberts said. “We do not condone behavior like this at all, and we’re in shock just as much as everyone else.”
Disclaimer: News Editor Andreas Pelekis ’26 and Assistant Culture Editor William Gutiérrez ’27, members of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, did not contribute writing or reporting.
Anonymous • Nov 8, 2024 at 1:01 pm
The duty of a good journalist is to ask hard questions, which this article lacks. When did college administrators learn of this investigation? Why weren’t people warned about a possible criminal in their class, dorm, club, sport, or fraternity? Why was Kiston allowed to graduate, walk, and receive his diploma several days after he pled guilty to these heinous crimes? Why didn’t The Lafayette ask any of these serious questions, and why didn’t the college do more to protect its students?
Carly • Nov 8, 2024 at 12:04 pm
Including an Interview to hear a reaction from a student and then admitting that the person you interviewed didn’t even know him well is just unbelievable. You can’t imagine how those of us who DID know him and had genuine friendships with him are feeling right now. How about focus on how we who did have close friendships are having to deal with trying to reconcile knowing him as the good person he was and this sick and terrible crime he committed. Why write an article about Ben and then make the focus entirely about Delta Tau Delta? Not to mention even finding a picture of him that isn’t affiliated with Greek life…
Parent ‘24 • Nov 8, 2024 at 9:10 pm
Agreed. Seems like the frat is trying to run interference to preserve their image. Also, the large photo of him holding his frat cert was wholly unnecessary. He is no longer a student at the school.
I’ll add, “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” He is now serving the punishment for the crime. Let’s hope Ben is receiving the counseling he needs, so that this never happens again. Clearly, this is a tough time for the Laf ‘24 grads to whom Ben was a trusted friend. Have some respect.
Anonymous • Nov 8, 2024 at 11:46 am
Yet another example of The Lafayette fumbling the delivery of serious news. The decision to frame this story from the lens of how it effects his fraternity brothers (especially those that admittedly didn’t even know him) is a huge disservice to the victims of a crime like this and those that actually knew this individual. The conscious decision made by the authors to platform Delt so that they could denounce this individual and separate themselves from him is so representative of how we protect Greek life at this school in even the most serious circumstances. This individual needs help and above everything else, any and all commentary about how his former brothers “felt sick” and were shocked is unnecessary and inappropriate. Frankly no one really cares about how this affects Delt and their image; imagine how the families of the victims of this crime, or people who knew this individual feel.
Amos Han '14 • Nov 8, 2024 at 7:00 am
I am just very sick to hear something like this happening. A young alumnus of my beloved alma mater going down the path this way. It always makes me happy to see successful alumni at Lafayette but at the same time occasionally if a current student or alumnus commits a crime like this, I just feel very embarrassed. Let alone a child pronography. This is really disgusting. I am going to try not to think about it and be more positive and know that luckily it is rare to see a Lafayette alumnus end up down the path that leads them to prison. Last spring, a nice friend in Tampa helped me be a more positive person with more positive thinking and therefore I will not let this get to me.