KING WILLIAM — The former clerk of King William County has been charged with eight felony offenses of violating Virginia’s computer trespassing law.
Christine Branch was promoted from deputy clerk to the Board of Supervisors to clerk in 2023 but resigned earlier this year. Authorities allege the offenses involving King William County computer systems occurred after she left her position.
Arrest records obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request from the sheriff’s office reveal the alleged offenses occurred April 2. Branch was arrested June 24.
The criminal complaint alleges that Branch changed login information and passwords on King William County email systems when she was no longer working for the county. The complaint followed notifications from several companies stating that the King William County account login email information for them had been changed to a different email address. The complaint lists eight companies, including BJs and Vista. “The accounts were exclusively used by King William County,” the complaint states.
Branch is scheduled to appear in King William General District Court on Sept. 5 to answer eight counts of computer trespass, disable-government.
County Administrator Percy Ashcraft referred inquires about Branch to the county attorney, who did not respond.
Virginia law states it is “unlawful for any person, with malicious intent, or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority” to carry out acts including removing or disabling computer data, computer programs, or computer software from a computer or computer network, disabling programs, causing a computer to malfunction, alter a financial instrument or “use a computer or computer network to cause physical injury to the property of another.”
Computer trespass may include making “an unauthorized copy, in any form, including, but not limited to, any printed or electronic form of computer data, computer programs or computer software residing in, communicated by, or produced by a computer or computer network.”
Although computer trespass is a Class 1 misdemeanor, it becomes a Class 6 felony if it involves a computer exclusively used by the Commonwealth of Virginia “or any local government within the Commonwealth.”
During her time with King William County, Branch was tasked with a number of initiatives including a public competition to design a new logo for the county.
David Macaulay, Davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
