Ruckersville, Va. (WINA) – A Ruckersville internet celebrity has been charged with a sex crime against a family member.

Christine Weston Chandler, known as Chan Smith online, is charged with one count of incest with further charges pending.

Greene County Sheriff Steve Smith would not go so far as to say verbatim that Chandler allegedly performed sexual acts on her mother.

“Well, what I can say is that we received tips that they were concerned about the safety of the mother, and he [sic] has been charged with incest,” he says.

Chandler, 39, identifies as female. According to Newsweek, Chandler came out as transgender in 2016 after which she legally changed her name.

Chandler began her rise to fame in 2004 when she created the comic series Sonichu, based around a character that is a cross between Sonic the Hedgehog and Pikachu from Pokémon. She has 60,000 followers on Twitter.

On Friday, Jul 30, a disturbing audio recording and text conversation were leaked online. In them, Chandler graphically described sex acts with her 80-year-old mother, with whom she lives and who suffers dementia.

The following day, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office began to receive information involving sex crimes against a family member and requests that authorities check on the mother’s wellbeing. An arrest warrant was issued, with Chandler arrested by the Henrico Police Department on Sunday. Chandler is now being held in the Central Virginia Regional Jail without bond, with her first court appearance scheduled for Wednesday.

Sheriff Smith says he has been inundated with calls from the national media, with calls of concern coming from across the country.

“Well, it is a terrible situation,” he says, “but it’s just part of the stuff we see in this line of work.”

Aug 2, 2021, News Release