SerpApi.Org
Church leaders in South Carolina have resigned and been charged with obstruction of justice after a police investigation found that the church and affiliated school knowingly employed a convicted sex offender who wasn't allowed to be near children. Lawsuits have also been filed by concerned families.
In a July 17 Facebook post, Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver acknowledged that Pawleys Island Community Church Pastor Don Williams, his wife Ginny and Pawleys Island Christian Academy Director Niki Howard have resigned from their positions following the discovery that the church allowed convicted sex offender Warren Perry to volunteer there “despite the fact that a day care and school existed on site.”
“These resignations mean nothing with regard to the ongoing investigation of the church allowing a sex offender to be in close proximity with children at the church school,” Weaver insisted.
Weaver provided additional details about the investigation at a press conference Monday, saying that Perry volunteered as a custodian at Pawleys Island Christian Academy.
“A concerned citizen made everyone aware of his activities being around children at Pawleys Island Christian Academy after she viewed Mr. Perry on the sex offender registry,” he said.
While speaking with the Sheriff’s Office on July 12, shortly after the agency first received the tip about Perry, church officials said he volunteered there seven days a week but assured the agency that “the church has taken measures to ensure that he is not allowed around children,” the sheriff said. The Sheriff’s Office later determined that the statement from church leadership “was simply not true.”
Weaver announced criminal charges of obstruction of justice, taking steps to place children at risk and criminal conspiracy against former Pastor Don Williams and Howard while noting that Ginny Williams also faces charges of obstruction of justice and criminal conspiracy. The sheriff indicated that Perry had been re-arrested on new charges of obstruction of justice and criminal conspiracy while the other defendants had not yet been taken into custody.
An update posted Monday night by the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office indicated that all four had been arrested. The investigation remains ongoing.
A $25 million class-action lawsuit was filed in state court Friday against Pawleys Island Christian Academy and Pawleys Island Community Church on behalf of all students who attended within the past six years.
The plaintiffs accuse the school and church officials of failing to properly inform parents that a convicted sex offender was working at the school, according to WBTW.
A subsequent lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges that Perry sexually abused a child during his tenure at the school. Lawyer Kenneth Berger, who is representing the mother who filed the lawsuit on her child’s behalf, shared additional information about the lawsuit in a Wednesday Facebook post containing screenshots of a local news report about the complaint.
The alleged incident involved a “game” that involved sexual acts, which took place in June 2022. After the child reported what happened to his parents, showed them where it happened and identified a man with “white hair” as the one who told him about it, the concerned parents told school leadership about the incident. The local news report states that school leadership responded to concerns by questioning if the child made up the account.
The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office first announced the arrest of Perry on July 14. Perry was arrested for violating the conditions of his probation for a 2023 Sexual Exploitation of a Minor conviction by volunteering for an organization that works in close proximity to children by operating an elementary school, preschool and nursery.
Sheriff Weaver clarified at the press conference how Perry first began working with Pawleys Island Community Church and Pawleys Island Christian Academy shortly after his 2020 arrest.
He shared video footage documenting an exchange between the state’s Probation, Pardon and Parole Office and Williams, who became flabbergasted when informed that Perry was being taken into custody. When pressed by Williams, the law enforcement official speaking with the former pastor explained that under the terms of his probation, Perry “can’t be in the same room with minors.”
After the video concluded, Weaver shared photos proving Perry was in close contact with minors. The pictures documented Perry standing near children gathered in a swimming pool and getting his feet washed at an indoor church event as children sat nearby.
“This is sickening in and of itself coupled with the video of just ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’” Weaver proclaimed.
“This recklessness as exhibited in the video and lack of responsibility in the church’s role to ensure a convicted sex offender is not allowed around minor children allowed for investigators to discover an abundance of evidence through sworn statements and search warrants,” Weaver added. “Don Williams, Ginny Williams, Niki Howard and Warren Perry all colluded to knowingly and willfully placing our children in harm’s way.”
Pawleys Island Community Church addressed the “crisis” in a Facebook post published Saturday, lamenting the “concern, confusion, and hurt” caused by “decisions that have called into question the integrity of our church."
The church noted the resignations of the Williamses and "several elders." It acknowledged the concerns and said it understands "the weight of this moment."
"As the staff and elders work through the transition we are confident that [God] will guide our church faithfully into this next chapter," the statement reads.
“God will continue to use this church to proclaim his love and serve others for generations to come.”
The statement concluded with a call for further prayers for the church, its staff and its congregation.
