COASTAL OBSERVER

A 5-year-old boy was sexually assaulted while he was a student at Pawleys Island Christian Academy in 2022, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

It was the first public accusation of sexual abuse to emerge following the discovery a week earlier that a volunteer custodian at Pawleys Island Community Church and its Christian Academy was a registered sex offender.

Warren Perry, 70, of Murrells Inlet was arrested a day after a complaint was filed with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with a probation violation.

This week, he was arrested again for obstruction of justice and criminal conspiracy along with the Rev. Don Williams, the church pastor at the time; his wife, Ginny, who worked at the church; and Nikki Howard, the school director. Don Williams and Howard were also charged with placing a child at risk because they knew of Perry’s status as a sex offender and allowed him to be in contact with children.

A class-action lawsuit was filed against the church seeking damages in excess of $25 million on behalf of children at the school and those who took part in church activities. Two other lawsuits were filed by parents on behalf of their children.

In one, the mother of a boy identified as John Doe said she and her husband were told by their son in July 2022 that he learned a game at the school that involved anal sex. The boy, who was 5 at the time, said he learned it from “a man at the school with white hair,” that they identified as Perry.

The suit says that Perry had or attempted anal sex with the child. The parents reported the incident to Howard who “claimed nothing like that had ever happened at the school before and questioned whether John Doe was making it up,” according to the court filing.

The parents reported the incident to law enforcement and withdrew their son from the school. He began to receive counseling, but “will forever carry this disgusting abuse with him,” the suit states.

All three suits claim the church, the school and their leaders were grossly negligent, reckless and willful in allowing Perry to work around childen despite their knowledge of his past.

Sheriff Carter Weaver played a short clip from a deputy’s body camera footage at a press conference this week. It was taken after Perry’s arrest last week and shows Don Williams claiming ignorance after he was told Perry was being taken into custody.

“He’s had contact with minors. He’s not allowed to have contact with minors,” the deputy told Williams, who appears incredulous.

“Define contact with minors,” Williams said.

Weaver then held up two poster-size photographs that clearly show Perry in close proximity to the children. There are others, he added.

“Who do you think allowed that?” he said. “This is sickening, in and of itself, coupled with a video of just, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’”

That and an “abundance of evidence” through sworn statements and search warrants led to the charges, Weaver said.

All of the suspects colluded to knowingly and willfully placing children in harm’s way, he said.

The sheriff’s office will conduct interviews with children who may have had contact with Perry and a search of all digital devices that were confiscated. It also will assess statements regarding the behavior of those arrested in the case as well as elders in the church, who serve as its lay leaders.

More charges can “absolutely” come forward, Weaver said.

“We’ve got to assess the roles of proclaimed elders in the church and apply their behaviors,” he said.

Weaver also said he was not aware of any prior complaints about Perry or the church.

“This is just the beginning of the work,” said 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson. “It’s nowhere near over. The investigation still needs to be digested.”

The arrest warrants are based on probable cause, he said, and every defendant named is innocent until proved guilty. Richardson also said he received a call from Attorney General Alan Wilson pledging to help with the investigation.

It was a parent of a child at the academy who reported on July 13 that Perry was working at the church and school, which serves approximately 100 students. 

A deputy explained that Perry had disclosed to her that he worked at the church but never mentioned that the church ran a child care center. Perry’s probation officer also stated that Perry hadn’t disclosed information about the academy.

Perry’s probation officer told him last week that he can no longer have any affiliation with the church due to the presence of the child care center.

Deputies received a second complaint about three hours later regarding Perry’s employment at the academy and his “unrestricted access to minor children.” 

The aunt of a teacher at the academy told a deputy that her niece had complained to the administration about having a sex offender working at the school, but was told that judging Perry was “not a Christian thing to do.”

Following the confrontation, her niece was essentially forced out of her position at the school, the aunt stated.

The aunt, who told deputies she wanted to remain anonymous, said students at the academy interacted with Perry, drawing pictures for him and giving him gifts. 

Perry was arrested July 14 for a violating his probation from a 2023 guilty plea for third degree sexual exploitation of a child. That stemmed from his arrest in August 2020. His 10-year sentance was suspended and he received five years probation.

Williams held a meeting at the church July 15 to address the matter.

“Looking back we’re asking whether we drew the line in the right place,” he told church members, teachers and parents.

During the meeting, Williams said that Perry first came to the church to attend Sunday service with a friend who was his financial adviser. Williams said he knew of Perry’s past and told them Perry could attend as long as he was supervised and avoided children’s facilities on the church campus. 

Perry began to attend adult Bible study and developed a friendship with the church’s maintenance man, who became Perry’s mentor. 

He professed faith in Christ in 2021 and showed what appeared to be “genuine spiritual growth,” Williams said.

Perry began to work with the staff member and help out around the campus before he was on probation in 2023 and “always, always, always” supervised, Williams said.

After he was put on probation, Perry continued to be involved in working with facilities. Williams said “stringent” safeguards were put in place.

“We believe children must be protected. We also believe that every person, even someone who has committed a serious crime, is made in the image of God and should be treated with dignity,” Williams said.

“We were kind of left in the dark that week,” said Kelly Pope, the lead teacher at the academy.

The Williamses, along with Jennifer Howard, resigned on July 17. Their arrests, along with Perry’s, was just the first step in rebuilding the broken trust in the school. It was what she wanted, Pope said.

“I hate it had to be done, but it needed to be done. The trust was broken. I’m still in shock,” she said. “Our second step is trying to rebuild what is broken, and I pray it’s this year.”

The class action lawsuit seeking at least $25 million in damages from the church and school  was filed the same day.

The church and school “intentionally failed to inform or advise the parents and guardians that the employee or volunteer was in fact an alcoholic and a known sex offender and intentionally placed their children in harm’s way by allowing the sex offender to have access to their children and to supervise activities which involved being in close proximity to their children with an opportunity to touch their children,” according to the filing.

It says that there were “numerous touchings” of children by Perry.

After being confronted by parents, church and school officials “assumed an attitude of incredible arrogance in defending the sex offender over the interest of their children,” according to the suit. They also “attempted to defend their actions by using biblical quotes and references once again in complete disregard for the safety of their children.”

The potential class of plaintiffs includes parents of students at the academy and any children who attended church activities where Perry was present. The church has a popular youth ministry and holds a week-long summer program of worship and games for children.

The church canceled its services on Sunday. About a dozen protesters gathered along the bike path in front of the sanctuary. 

Judy Purcell, who said she organized the protest, carried a sign that read “Arrest Today.”

“They stood at the podium and said ‘I knew,’” she said of the church leadership. 

Purcell said she has attended the church and her grandchildren attended the school. Although she thought the charges should’ve came sooner, she along with many others were grateful to hear that the investigation was moving forward.

At a bond hearing on Tuesday, attorneys spoke on behalf of the Williamses and Howard. Howard is represented by Erin Bailey, whose firm is in Georgetown. 

“She feels like she was led astray,” Bailey said, adding that the Williamses had lied to her about Perry’s involvement.

The Williamses, who were arrested in Summerville, are represented by Casey Brown, whose firm is based in Pawleys Island. They were staying with family out of concern for their safety, Brown said.