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A former employee of the Evans City Public Library in Butler County, Pennsylvania, is facing felony charges after allegedly hacking into the library's computer system and deleting years' worth of records in what staff believe was an act of retaliation.
Evelyn L. Green, 31, of Renfrew, was charged Thursday (February 26) with one felony count each of unlawful computer use and computer trespass, according to the Cranberry Eagle. Green had quit her position at the library in August before the alleged incident took place.
Library staff contacted Evans City police after discovering someone had broken into their system and deleted historical files, templates, and other records stored on the library's software platform, LibraryAware. The software company told police that only two legitimate user accounts existed — but a third, fake account had also been granted access.
That fake account, linked to the name "Cory Covert," was used to delete files one by one over a 14-hour period on October 20 and 21. Police connected the bogus account to Green after noticing the email tied to "Cory Covert" was added to the library's WIX website — used for a "Babies and Toddlers Storytime" program — just six minutes after Green last accessed a separate library software system.
The fake email was also connected to a page where donations could be made to the library, WPXI Channel 11 News reported. After her arrest, Green reportedly confessed to deleting the records but did not offer a reason why.
The incident rattled regulars at the library. "Pretty shocked to see something like that happen," said Mike Dugan of Evans City, who visits the library often with his therapy dog. "If it was the person that I know, very surprised because she was wonderful, and she was great with the kids," he said.
Community member Tina McFarland shared a similar sentiment. "I go here all the time and they're really nice people," she said. "It hurts the community."
Green's bail was set at $15,000. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday (March 18) before District Judge Amy Marcinkiewicz.