Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis indicted on misconduct charges; denies allegations

Suspended Sheriff Will Lewis will make his first court appearance Thursday morning after being indicted on charges of misconduct in office and obstruction of justice.

The charges are the latest development in a tumultuous tenure for Lewis.

Gov. Henry McMaster suspended Lewis from office and appointed former Greenville County Sheriff Johnny Mack Brown to serve as interim sheriff. Lewis will not receive pay while suspended.

"We only pay one sheriff at a time, and we will be paying the one who is doing the job,” said Greenville County Council Chairman Butch Kirven.

Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett signed the true bill indictments Tuesday morning after the State Law Enforcement Division presented initial findings from a seven-month investigation that stemmed from sexual assault allegations.

SLED agents were at the Greenville County Law Enforcement Center Tuesday, continuing their investigation.

"We look forward to this next phase of this prosecution," Brackett said. "There are additional interviews and matters that need to be looked into. After agents from SLED came to our office and discussed the information that they developed, we have additional follow-up investigation that needs to be done."

New information gathered could lead to additional indictments being presented to the grand jury, Brackett said.

More: Sheriff Will Lewis' indictment draws reaction from Upstate legislators

Wally Fayssoux, Jr., whose firm represents Lewis along with Beattie Ashmore and Butch Bowers, said in a statement that Lewis "adamantly denies any wrongdoing or misconduct in office and certainly did not interfere with an investigation he personally requested."

Fayssoux has not received the SLED report and described the indictments as "simply vague allegations of misconduct in office and obstruction of justice." He declined further comment.

One indictment states that Lewis "willfully and dishonestly failed to properly and faithfully discharge his lawful duties" as sheriff "through a series of improper acts" between Jan. 12, 2017, through Feb. 13. The other indictment states that Lewis "purposely attempted to prevent, obstruct, impede or hinder the administration of justice" between April 25, 2017, and Feb. 13.

Both charges carry a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

The indictments follow sexual assault and harassment allegations by Lewis' former assistant, Savanah Nabors. She alleges in a civil lawsuit that Lewis sexually assaulted her during a business trip to Charlotte in March 2017.

Lewis was served his indictment papers Tuesday afternoon, SLED spokesman Thom Berry said. Lewis will not be processed through the Greenville County jail, Berry said.

He will next go before a circuit court judge to be arraigned and will not go through the normal booking process for someone who is arrested, Berry said.

"You won't see a booking photo from the Greenville County jail," Berry said."The only way an arrest warrant would be signed would be if he had refused to accept the service. Since he did, that's not necessary."

McMaster said Brown will serve as interim sheriff until Lewis is acquitted, convicted or the indictment is otherwise disposed. He said the circumstances surrounding the case called for Lewis' suspension.

"I think it does tarnish trust," he said.

Brown, who spent six terms as sheriff beginning in the 1970s, spoke during a news conference with McMaster and said he is looking forward to "going home."

"I look forward to the challenge," Brown said. "I look forward to seeing everyone again and getting morale up at the Sheriff’s Office where it should be."

McMaster had called for Lewis to resign and in an earlier statement in October 2017 said, “If I could remove him from office, I most certainly would.”

Nabors' lawsuit, which includes audio recordings and photographs related to the case, alleges Lewis is responsible for a pattern of harassment and states that Nabors was terminated from her job because she refused to tolerate sexual advances.

Lewis later admitted to having a "consensual encounter" outside of his marriage but denied any criminal wrongdoing including rape and harassment.

Kyle White, an attorney representing Nabors in the civil suit, said the criminal indictments do not change the course of their civil litigation. Nabors has been made aware of Lewis' criminal charges, White said.

"We're certainly going to continue to stand by the allegations in the civil lawsuit and are looking forward to Savanah Nabors' day in court," White said, adding that he couldn't comment further because of ongoing litigation.

Lewis took office in January 2017. His campaign centered on transparency, modernizing the agency, equipping deputies with body cameras and being tough on gang activity and terrorism.

Since the SLED investigation began last year, members of the Greenville County Council have urged Lewis to resign.

In October, the Greenville County Council unanimously approved a resolution, which referenced the ‘moral failure, infidelity and personal indiscretions’ that Lewis had admitted to in a press conference.

Greenville County Councilman Fred Payne, who read the resolution from County Council that expressed a ‘loss of confidence’ in Sheriff Lewis, said he was sorry about the whole situation but trusted that the governor acted appropriately based results of the SLED investigation.

Kirven said the council's resolution to call on Lewis to resign was based on the sheriff's own public comments about his failings on the job. Kirven called the indictments a sad situation for all those involved.

"The sheriff has a higher standard than the average person, to be a person of higher moral standing. When we fail, we all have to be called into account," Kirven said. "It's a large organization and you are looking at the responsibility for public safety for half a million people in Greenville County and a department of almost 500 personnel. You certainly need to be a mature person that exemplifies good judgement with experience and qualifications for the job."

Greenville County Councilman Joe Dill said the indictment "has been a long time coming."

"I liked Will Lewis. I think he's done a good job," Dill said. "If it hasn't been for this incident, he would have been a great sheriff. I'm sorry that this has happened. I think that's the only way you can deal with a situation like this."

Rep. Phyllis Henderson, R-Greenville, said the county will be in "good hands" with Brown.

"He’s experienced. I think under his leadership we’re not going to miss a beat,” she said.

Rep. Garry Smith, R-Simpsonville, said the indictments came as no surprise.

The alleged assault took place during a taxpayer-funded business trip, and a financial audit was done to see whether county dollars were specifically used to carry out the affair.

"I wasn’t totally surprised based upon his statements he made about the use of county funds to afford the affair that he had," Smith said. "I wasn’t shocked. I’m glad to see the governor took action to address the situation and I think Johnny Mack will do an excellent job."

Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, expressed sympathy for Lewis and his family.

"Obviously, everybody is entitled to their day in court and right now these are just accusations against him. To a large degree, it’s a disappointing turn of events for the Sheriff’s Office and the department," Bannister said. "I am sure it will be a distraction to the deputies and other members of the Sheriff’s Office while they try to do their job."

The Sheriff's Office released a statement Tuesday evening referring all questions to Lewis' attorney.

Staff writer Gabe Cavallaro contributed to this report.

Read the indictments:

More: Sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis

More: Sheriff Will Lewis admits to 'consensual relationship,' denies sexual assault

More: SLED completes investigation of sexual assault allegations against Sheriff Will Lewis

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