Judge dismisses criminal charges against former Pawleys Island church leaders
A judge has dismissed all criminal charges against the former leaders of Pawleys Island Community Church in South Carolina over their decision to let a convicted sex offender work as a volunteer around children at their facilities.
Georgetown County Chief Magistrate Judge Anthony Love dismissed the charges Friday against church employees and those at its affiliated school. The judge found that the testimony did not provide sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, WCIV reports.
The church was hit with a criminal investigation and multiple lawsuits after allowing a registered sex offender, Warren Perry, to volunteer as a janitor at its youth academy. Love largely blamed the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (SCDPPPS), saying the agency failed to handle the case properly.
"It's in my opinion that they have let this fall through the cracks," Love wrote. "The Sheriff's Office [was] in a tough situation where you're getting information second hand of probation parole's first hand knowledge, essentially."
Erin Bailey, attorney for former Pawleys Island Christian Academy director Niki Howard, told WMBF that SCDPPPS knew Perry volunteered at the church and that it had a preschool.
"They had done a site visit to the church, so they were very well aware," Bailey said. "They had met with Pastor Don Williams and given him guidelines under which Warren Perry could continue to volunteer as a groundskeeper at Pawleys Island Community Church, and those guidelines were followed."
"Every single crime has specific elements, a specific checklist of things that need to happen," she told WMBF. "And in this case, the conduct just did not meet the elements of the crimes that they were charged with."
Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said he stands "firmly behind the thorough work of this agency's investigators and the agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division."
"I understand the concerns and questions surrounding what comes next after charges against the defendants in the Pawleys Island Community Church/Pawleys Island Christian Academy case were dismissed by a magistrate during a preliminary hearing today in Georgetown County," he said, as quoted by WMBF.
"I look forward … to obtaining a press release from the Attorney General's Office regarding the circumstances that led to today's ruling, particularly the judge's findings regarding Title 63 and the actions, or lack thereof, of the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon in its handling of convicted sex offender Warren Perry and his presence at the church and school."
Perry, a 70-year-old registered sex offender, was arrested in July after authorities learned he was serving as a volunteer custodian at the church's academy. He was convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor and placed on probation in 2023. His volunteer work at the academy reportedly violated the terms of his probation.
The church drew intense backlash for allowing Perry to volunteer. Pastor Don Williams, his wife, Virginia Lee Williams, and Howard all resigned from their leadership positions.
Weaver announced in July that Williams and Howard were charged with obstruction of justice, taking steps to place children at risk and criminal conspiracy. Virginia Williams was charged with obstruction of justice and criminal conspiracy, while Perry was rearrested and received new charges of obstruction of justice and criminal conspiracy.
Police also arrested Michael Anthony Fields, director of operations and missions at the church, charging him with "Unlawfully Placing a Child at Risk or Causing a Child Harm." Another person, identified as the church's security director, was also arrested.
The church also was sued multiple times, including a $25 million class-action suit filed in state court in July on behalf of all students who attended the academy in the past six years.
Another lawsuit accuses Perry of abusing a student at the church academy. A third names the SCDPPPS as a defendant, alleging the agency failed to enforce restrictions meant to keep Perry away from minors, WMBF News reported.
In August, the church announced the closure of its academy, citing backlash over the news about Perry and acknowledging that "trust remains to be restored."
"We recognize the information that has come to light over the past few weeks has severed trust and caused tremendous hurt and confusion. For this, the current leadership of PICC offers our sincerest apologies," the church said.
Later in August, the church announced the reopening of its children's ministry, which is separate from the academy, touting improved safety measures.
In October, a federal class-action lawsuit against the church and the Southern Baptist Convention, with which the congregation was affiliated, was dismissed by a district court.
While the court did not rule on the defendants' guilt or innocence, it concluded that it lacked jurisdiction and that the suit did not meet the criteria for a federal complaint.
