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 Guttierez ’27, members of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, did not contribute editing or reporting.
