Christian School in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, Closes After Registered Sex Offender Found Volunteering Near Children

A South Carolina Christian school has closed after reports that a convicted sex offender had been volunteering near children at the school. Pawleys Island Christian Academy is affiliated with Pawleys Island Community Church. According to WYFF4, the school closed following allegations that the man was volunteering near children.

According to reports, a concerned citizen alerted authorities after viewing the man’s name on the sex offender registry. WYFF4 reported that a concerned parent contacted the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office in July to say that the man was allowed close proximity to children at the church school. Deputies identified him as Warren Perry, a 70-year-old man convicted in 2023 of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Christian Post reported that Perry volunteered as a custodian at the academy.

Church leaders initially told investigators that Perry did not have access to children, according to WYFF4. That statement was later shown to be false, the report said. Christian Post reported that Pastor Don Williams, his wife Ginny, and Pawleys Island Christian Academy Director Niki Howard resigned from their positions after the discovery. Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver announced charges in a July 17 Facebook post and at a press conference, according to the same report. Christian Post’s headline described the pastor and school leader as charged after the church knowingly employed a sex offender. The available reports do not give the specific charges against each person, so those details should be confirmed from official sources.

Separate lawsuits have followed. Roy’s Report said parents filed multiple lawsuits against a church it described as Southern Baptist over hiring a registered sex offender as a school custodian. The lawsuits were filed within five days of each other and seek accountability for negligence and reckless conduct, with one demanding more than $25 million in damages. The report did not identify the church’s denomination in the same way as the other outlets, and the reports do not agree on that point. Roy’s Report identified the custodian as Warren Spence Perry.

On August 4, 2026, a federal class action was filed in U.S. district court in South Carolina, according to FITSNews. The defendants include Pawleys Island Christian Academy, Pawleys Island Community Church, former church and school leaders, and Warren Perry. The 25-page complaint alleges that church and academy leaders knowingly allowed Perry recurring daily access to young children despite his status as a convicted and registered sex offender. These are allegations in a civil complaint, not findings by a court. The plaintiffs, identified as John Doe and Jane Doe, sue individually and on behalf of their child and two proposed classes, protecting the vulnerable being the central concern of the claims (Psalm 82:3).