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PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. — Pawleys Island Christian Academy has closed after 25 years as a criminal investigation into how a registered sex offender worked on its church campus expanded to five arrests and six civil lawsuits.

The academy’s parent church ended the school ministry Aug. 10, nearly a month after a parent discovered Warren Spence Perry on the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry. Perry had performed maintenance and custodial work on the campus for approximately six years, including about three years after his conviction.

Former Pawleys Island Community Church pastor Don Williams later acknowledged that a small group of church leaders knew about Perry’s criminal record. Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said investigators uncovered evidence that Perry’s status was concealed while he continued working near children.

A parent complaint triggered the investigation

Perry was arrested in 2020 on two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. In November 2023, he was convicted of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, an offense involving the possession of child sexual abuse material.

A judge sentenced Perry to 10 years in prison, suspended to five years of probation. He was also required to register as a sex offender and prohibited from having contact with minors.

The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services approved Perry to volunteer at the church, partly based on character statements Williams provided. The agency said Perry disclosed the church work but failed to disclose that a school, preschool and nursery operated on the same campus.

Probation officials said Perry was explicitly instructed not to have direct contact with minors. The agency arrested him July 14 after a parent’s complaint and accused him of providing untruthful information about his activities.

Church leaders admitted knowing about conviction

During a July 15 community meeting, Williams admitted that a core group of church leaders knew Perry had been convicted. Williams said leadership believed safeguards had been established and Perry was complying with his probation restrictions.

Williams also acknowledged that leaders made a judgment call not to disclose Perry’s status more broadly. Parents said the decision deprived them of the ability to determine whether they wanted their children on the same campus as a registered sex offender.

Williams, his wife, Ginny Williams, academy director Jennifer “Niki” Howard and several church elders resigned July 17. Authorities arrested Perry and the three former church and school leaders July 20 on charges arising from the investigation.

Don Williams and Howard were charged with obstruction of justice, criminal conspiracy and unlawfully placing a child at risk. Ginny Williams and Perry also face obstruction and conspiracy charges, while authorities later added a child-endangerment charge against Ginny Williams.

On July 29, authorities made a fifth arrest. Michael Anthony Fields, the church’s former operations and missions director, was charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or causing harm. Investigators said Fields had responsibility for campus security and school safety.

The charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in court.

State records showed prior screening failures

The academy had already faced repeated problems involving employee screening before Perry’s presence became public. South Carolina Child Care inspection records show high-severity background-check deficiencies in 2024 and again in March 2026.

The 2024 inspection found caregivers working before required criminal and child abuse registry checks had been completed. A March 2026 review also found staff members working without completed background checks, according to Blunt Force Media Group’s review of the records.

The agency later marked those violations as corrected. However, a complaint inspection conducted after the Perry case became public identified additional violations involving staff requirements, direct supervision and fire safety.

The state licensed the academy to serve as many as 148 children. Its programs included care and instruction for infants through kindergarten-age students.

Six lawsuits expand the case

Families have filed six civil lawsuits since the investigation became public, including two proposed class actions. The complaints name various church and school leaders, Perry, the state probation agency and the Southern Baptist Convention.

The litigation follows other cases involving allegations that church-affiliated child care providers failed to protect children, including a lawsuit against a Huntsville church daycare.

One lawsuit accuses probation officials of failing to supervise Perry adequately after approving his church work. The complaint argues that the agency should have discovered that a school operated on the property and that Perry could encounter children there.

Another lawsuit alleges Perry sexually assaulted a 5-year-old child at the academy in 2022 and that the child’s parent reported the allegation to Howard. That claim has not been proven in court, and Perry has not been criminally charged with sexually abusing a student at the academy.

Authorities said forensic interviews conducted during the investigation had not produced criminal sexual conduct findings as of the latest public update. The investigation, however, remains open.

A federal proposed class action also names the Southern Baptist Convention and its Executive Committee. The lawsuit alleges the national organizations failed to establish adequate systems for protecting children at affiliated churches and schools.

The Southern Baptist Convention maintains that local congregations are autonomous and that the denomination does not control their daily operations. The organization told Baptist Press it does not comment on pending litigation.

Attorneys representing families have also requested an emergency hearing to preserve emails, text messages, surveillance footage, personnel records and other potential evidence. The motion alleges that the academy’s closure increased the risk that relevant records could be lost or destroyed.

State disputes school’s closure explanation

Pawleys Island Community Church announced the academy’s permanent closure in an Aug. 10 statement. Church leaders cited the investigation, recent events and delays involving state licensing.

The church apologized to families and acknowledged that trust had been severely damaged. It said continuing to operate the school was no longer feasible.

The South Carolina Department of Social Services, however, disputed the suggestion that state delays caused the closure. After the director’s resignation and arrest, the academy could not legally operate without another qualified director.

DSS said the academy never submitted a replacement candidate who successfully completed the required background screening. The facility instead voluntarily surrendered its child care license, placing responsibility for the closure with the academy and its operator, according to Live 5 News.

The church has said it is reviewing its policies and leadership structure while cooperating with investigators. The criminal cases and civil lawsuits will determine whether the decisions that kept Perry on the campus resulted from negligence, deliberate concealment or criminal conduct.