A former chemistry teacher at Downingtown West High School faces charges stemming from an inappropriate relationship he allegedly maintained with one of his male students.
The Chester County District Attorney’s Office and the Downingtown Borough Police Department announced the arrest of Brandon Keith Mitchell, 30, of West Chester, for unlawful contact with a minor, child pornography, endangering the welfare of children, and corruption of minors. The allegations stemmed from numerous sexually explicit text messages exchanged by the two, said a press release from the District Attorney’s Office.
Mitchell worked at Downingtown West from Nov. 30, 2010, through April 16, 2015, when he was suspended due to the criminal investigation. He subsequently resigned from his teaching position at the high school, the release said.
“This defendant used his position of trust and authority to engage in serious misconduct with a student,” District Attorney Chief of Staff Charles Gaza said in the release. “As always in cases like this, where a teacher had access to hundreds of students over multiple years, the authorities are concerned that there may be other victims out there.”
According to the criminal complaint, Mitchell began soliciting messages, nude photos and sexually explicit videos of the alleged victim when the 16-year-old was a junior in Mitchell’s chemistry class.
A search warrant for Mitchell’s electronic devices and phone records revealed over 12,000 text messages between him and the alleged victim from May 2013 until December 2014. Police also recovered a sexually explicit video of the victim on Mitchell’s laptop computer. Mitchell told the teen to delete their conversations, the complaint said.
Hogan said the case came to light through "a tip from another matter." He said the delay in making the arrest resulted from the time it took to review all the electronic data.
Magisterial District Judge Jeffrey J. Valocchi arraigned Mitchell on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Mitchell was released on $50,000 unsecured bail to await a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, March 9, court records said.
According to Mitchell’s Linkedin profile, he is now working in pharmaceutical product testing in Lancaster. He taught previously at Springwood High School in Kings Lynn, England, and the Farrell Area School District in Farrell, Pa.; he worked as a lab assistant at Grove City College, his profile said.
The case was investigated by the Downingtown Borough Police Department with assistance from the Chester County Detectives. Anyone with further information is asked to contact Downingtown Det. Andy Trautmann at 610-269-0263, the release said.
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