Hinch’s sentence handed down

Former 3AW drive announcer Derryn Hinch was today sentenced in the Supreme Court in relation to recent comtempt of court charges. He will have 90 days to pay a fine.

Earlier this month, Hinch was found guilty of being in contempt of court after it had been alledged he had breached a suppression order by detailing on his blog and Twitter the previous criminal history of Adrian Bayley, the man convicted of the rape and murder of ABC radio’s Jill Meagher.

Hinch had originally pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying to court reporters after a hearing in July that: “In the Jill Meagher case I think what social media did was some of the worse things I have seen in a court case, and some people went way beyond what was legally and morally responsibleI wasn’t one of those people. I am going to plead not guilty – I was not in contempt of court.

Today in the Supreme Court, Hinch narrowly avoided a jail sentence but not without a hefty fine of $100,000. He has been given 90 days to pay the amount, and if he is unable to do so the court ruled that he must spend 50 days in jail.

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