Charges Dismissed Against Former Mauldin Official

Mauldin's former Public Works director, William Greg Fincher, is a free man nearly a year after a woman alleged he kidnapped her during an after-hours job interview.

The charges against Fincher were recently dropped by prosecutors after the alleged victim, Chelsea Alisha Fowler, could not be located.

Fowler alleged that on August 23, 2012, she had gone after hours to the Public Works department at 126 McDougall Street for a job interview. According to warrants and an incident report, an allegedly drunken Fincher kept Fowler at the headquarters against her will and also tried to solicit sex from her in exchange for a job.

Fowler said she was forced to run and scale an eight-foot fence on the property in order to escape Fincher.

Fincher was subsequently fired from his job by the city and remained free on $30,000 bond subsequent to the dismissal of his case.

In media interviews, Fincher has maintained his innocence and said that he is still unemployed as a result of the charge, which he said has ruined his life.

"In America, with the exception of the city of Mauldin, you are innocent until proven guilty. I was never afforded that," Fincher told WYFF.

Prosecutors said they were unable to reach Fowler despite multiple attempts to bring her forth as a witness. Despite a written statement by Fowler after the alleged incident, without her prosecutors said they were unable to try the case against Fincher and were forced to drop the charge.

Fincher told WYFF that the alleged victim's disappearance is proof of his innocence.

"I think that it gives them validity to the fact I didn't do anything wrong," he told WYFF. "I knew all along I didn't do anything wrong."