Police have charged former Prince William Police, Lieutenant William Martin Burke with the crime of computer invasion of privacy, Monday.
Investigators with the Prince William County Police Department charged Burke in an ongoing investigation stemming from February 2019.
The accused is alleged to have accessed personal, identifiable information of citizens using a law enforcement database, LInX-Law Enforcement Information Exchange, for unauthorized purposes. The inappropriate use of the database was discovered during a routine annual internal audit of usage.
Once the suspected violations were discovered, the Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards and Criminal Investigations Division launched an administrative criminal investigation into the matter.
"At this time, the information obtained during the searches does not appear to have been used in any fraudulent way by the accused," said police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Perok.
In April 2019, the accused separated employment from the agency. At the time of his separation, the accused held the rank of a Police Lieutenant with 17 years of service. During the criminal investigation, the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office was consulted with the details of the case.
At the request of the Commonwealth Attorney, the decision was made to have the case handled by a special prosecutor from Fauquier County. In July 2019, at the conclusion of the criminal investigation, the accused, identified as William Martin Burke, was arrested.
Arrested on July 29: [No Photo Available]
Police charged William Martin Burke, 43, of Goshen Court in Manassas, with 5 counts of computer invasion of privacy.
His court date has been set for September 5, 2019. He was released on Personal Recognizance
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