Pastor ARRESTED – Invited Sex Offender To Run Daycare!

In a South Carolina church that promised safety and faith, parents now face a hard question: did trusted leaders quietly choose a sex offender’s dignity over their children’s protection?

Story Snapshot

Convicted sex offender Warren Spence Perry volunteered for years at Pawleys Island Community Church around children.
Church leaders admit they knew his criminal history yet still let him serve under what they called “strict supervision.”
Perry was arrested for violating probation; now the pastor, his wife, and academy leaders face criminal charges.
Parents and prosecutors say this case shows how churches can shield insiders and risk kids to protect their image.

How A Convicted Sex Offender Ended Up Inside A Church Preschool

Warren Spence Perry is a seventy-year-old man from Murrells Inlet who was convicted in 2023 of sexual exploitation of a minor for a crime that happened in 2020. Under South Carolina law, sex offenders like Perry cannot be near children or work where children are present without clear approval from their probation officer. Yet court filings and news reports say Perry volunteered at Pawleys Island Community Church for about six years, including three years after his conviction.

The church does more than hold Sunday services. It runs an elementary school, a preschool, and a nursery on the same campus. Investigators now say Perry worked inside the preschool as a custodian while on supervision, moved through hallways and classrooms while school was in session, and had full access to school grounds. Parents were not told that the older man seen near their kids had a sex offense on his record.

What Church Leaders Knew And When They Knew It

Church leaders have admitted they knew Perry was a convicted sex offender but still allowed him to volunteer. One widely shared report says leadership knew his status as early as 2020, years before many parents learned the truth. According to a statement from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, Perry’s work at the church was approved in part because Pastor Don Williams gave character witness statements on his behalf.

Probation officials say Perry never told them the church also ran a school and daycare on the same property. He was instructed not to have direct contact with minors, yet investigators now allege he was inside classrooms, near children, and moving freely on school grounds. That gap between what Perry told probation, what church leaders knew, and what parents were told sits at the heart of both the criminal case and a twenty-five million dollar lawsuit.

The Arrest That Blew The Cover Off The Campus

This story came to a head after a teacher searched the South Carolina sex offender registry late one Friday and found Perry’s name and photo. Her co-teacher reported him the following Monday. On July 13, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office received complaints that Perry had been seen at Pawleys Island Christian Academy. Probation agents investigated the next day and arrested him on July 14, alleging he lied to officers and violated conditions by failing to avoid contact with minors.

Reports say Perry was taken into custody at the church school itself. He now faces accusations that he repeatedly told his probation officer he had no contact with minors and stayed away from restricted areas, while investigators say he did the opposite. Perry was released on bond but must still appear in court, where a judge will decide the outcome of his probation violation.

Now The Pastor And His Team Are Under Criminal Investigation

Once parents learned a convicted sex offender had been around their children for years, outrage spread fast. Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said investigators would interview parents, teachers, and church leaders and charge anyone who broke the law in handling Perry. Soon after, deputies executed warrants at both the church and the school. The sheriff’s office announced that several leaders, including the pastor and his wife, face charges such as obstruction of justice and criminal conspiracy.

CHARGED | A South Carolina sheriff announced criminal charges against leaders of the Pawleys Island Community Church and its Christian Academy.

👇 https://t.co/54Ke0NgXpV

— Queen City News (@Queen_City_News) July 21, 2026

At least one news outlet has reported that Pastor Don Williams and the director of the church’s academy have resigned as the investigation continues. A proposed class-action lawsuit claims the church and school “negligently retained a known sex offender,” failed to screen volunteers properly, and did not inform parents that an offender had close physical access to their children. Plaintiffs also claim Perry touched children on multiple occasions, though the full scope may be unknown due to age and poor supervision.

Claims Of “Strict Supervision” Versus The Pattern Of Church Cover-Ups

Church leaders say they tried to manage risk by strict oversight. They told members Perry was never supposed to be alone with children and was always under supervision, and they believed he was following his probation rules. From a common-sense conservative view, that defense sounds weak. When the law forbids an offender from being near kids, “supervised access” inside a preschool ignores the clear boundary meant to protect children, not institutional comfort.

This case fits a long pattern seen in abuse investigations across many churches: leaders worry first about their reputation, then handle danger “in-house.” Research on how churches hide sex abuse describes internal investigations, quiet transfers, and failure to warn law enforcement or parents. Studies of church sexual abuse show offenders often gain access through trust, then use that trust to get close to children when institutions fail to enforce strict limits. That is why many parents in Pawleys Island now see the church’s choices not as a mistake, but as a betrayal.

What This Means For Parents Who Still Trust Their Church

For families, the lesson is harsh but clear. Titles and Bible verses do not protect children; policies, transparency, and hard boundaries do. The law already says sex offenders should not be anywhere near children without special approval. When a church chooses to bring a known offender into a campus filled with young kids, trusts his word over clear rules, and keeps parents in the dark, it is not practicing grace. It is gambling with other people’s children.

Plenty of churches follow the law and guard kids well. But the pattern in this South Carolina case echoes stories from other denominations: a slow slide from mercy to enabling, from second chances to quiet cover-up. Parents who love both faith and common sense will respond not by abandoning church, but by insisting on background checks, full disclosure, and zero access for known offenders to any space where children learn, play, or worship.