Coast child sex offending teacher ordered not to leave court

Darren Westley Mitchell in court for breaching his suspended sentence.

Former teacher Darren Westley Mitchell

A TEACHER who lost his job after he was found with child pornography material has been ordered to sit in court for half a day as punishment for breaching his sentence.

Former Sunshine Coast teacher Darren Westley Mitchell was sentenced to 12 months' jail suspended immediately for three years in Maroochydore District Court in 2015.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing child exploitation material after police found 307 images and 37 videos on two laptops at his Maleny home in 2013.

Mitchell was made a reportable offender under the Child Protection Act 2004, but breached the sentence last year when he failed to tell police that he had got a new passport after his expired.

Judge Jennifer Rosengren said Mitchell's violation was clearly at the lower end of breaches and ordered that he be made a temporary prisoner until the "rising of the court".

"Having read all the material I am satisfied that is unjust to activate all or part of that suspended sentence," she said.

"Instead I order that you serve a part of your suspended imprisonment being a period of imprisonment to the rising of the court."

Rising of the court is a sentence for which the guilty is detained in a courtroom until the judge adjourns the court.

Mitchell will remain a reportable offender until late 2020. - NewsRegional

Originally published as Coast child sex offending teacher ordered not to leave court