The former administrator of Anchorage’s city elections has been indicted on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material.
On Feb. 10, a grand jury indicted William Northrop, 36, on five counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. Northrop was the city’s elections administrator in the municipal clerk’s office from Oct. 2023 to March 2025. He abruptly resigned days before Election Day in 2025.
The indictment alleges five instances of Northrop knowingly possessing or accessing a computer to view the illicit content. Four allegedly occurred on Nov. 5, 2024 – while he was a city employee – and another on July 9, 2025, after he resigned.
According to the resume he provided to the city when he was hired, Northrop had previously worked as a legal clerk for a state Superior Court judge for two years and was an assistant public defender in Palmer for a year.
In an email, municipal clerk Jamie Heinz said her office was unaware of the charges against Northrop until she was contacted Tuesday by an Anchorage Daily News reporter. She said his resignation was unrelated to the investigation.
On Feb. 10, a judge issued a warrant for Northrop’s arrest and set his bail at $15,000 cash. As of Thursday, court records showed Northrop was not in custody.
The state Department of Law did not immediately respond to questions about Northrop’s whereabouts, including whether he was still believed to be in the state.
