Former Chemistry Teacher Arrested for Child Porn, Sexting Male Student

And he's already free on bail.

High school chemistry teacher Brandon Mitchell in a photo released by prosecutors.

High school chemistry teacher Brandon Mitchell in a photo released by prosecutors.

A 30-year-old high school chemistry teacher has been arrested and charged with child pornography in connection with a relationship he allegedly had with one of his students.

On Tuesday morning, the Chester County District Attorney’s office announced the arrest of West Chester resident Brandon Keith Mitchell, who taught chemistry at Downingtown West High School for six years until he was suspended last April. According to prosecutors, Mitchell sexted a 16-year-old male student between May 2013 and December 2014. Police say they found more than 12,000 text messages between the two.

District Attorney Tom Hogan says that Mitchell told the student to send him nude photographs of himself, and the student followed through, sending Mitchell several nude photos and a sexually explicit video. Mitchell is also accused of sending the boy 20 nude photos of himself.

“[Mitchell] used his position of trust and authority to engage in serious misconduct with a student,” said District Attorney Chief of Staff Charles Gaza in a statement. “As always in cases like this, where a teacher had access to hundreds of students over multiple years, authorities are concerned that there may be other victims out there.” (The prosecutor’s office asks that anyone with additional information contact police at 610-269-0263.)

Police arrested Mitchell last Wednesday. He has been charged with child pornography and unlawful contact with a minor, in addition to other charges. A judge set bail at $50,000, and he posted it the same day. Mitchell is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 9th.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Mitchell was previously employed at two other schools outside the Philadelphia area and also worked at Dutch Wonderland and served as an assistant scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America.

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