GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – Four people, including a former pastor and his wife, face criminal charges after the sheriff of Georgetown County said there is evidence that they knowingly allowed a convicted sex offender around children.
Sheriff Carter Weaver announced charges Monday against former senior pastor of Pawleys Island Community Church Don Williams and his wife, Guest Services Director Ginny Williams, along with Pawleys Island Christian Academy Director Niki Howard.
“Don Williams, Ginny Williams, Niki Howard, and Warren Perry all colluded to knowingly and willfully placing our children in harm’s way,” Weaver said.
Deputies are charging Don Williams and Howard with obstruction of justice, unlawful placing of a child at risk, and conspiracy.
Ginny Williams and Warren Perry, a convicted sex offender who was found working at Pawleys Island Christian Academy as a custodian seven days a week, are charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
The academy offers programs for children from 6 weeks old to kindergarten age.
Deputies arrested Perry earlier Monday, and he is booked at the Georgetown County Detention Center.
Later, deputies announced that they arrested Don and Ginny Williams in Summerville and that they will be extradited back to Georgetown County; Howard turned herself in.
During the news conference, Weaver played a video of a deputy speaking with Don Williams, as the deputy told him that they were taking Perry into custody.
Weaver remarked on how shocked Don Williams looked, as the deputy told Don Williams that Perry indeed had been around children.
Don Williams asked the deputy to define being around children, as he claimed this did not take place.
Weaver pulled up two photos that he said show Perry around children and said the sheriff’s office has evidence to show Perry was around the children.
One of the photos appeared to show an adult washing Perry’s feet with other children around. Foot washing is a practice that holds religious significance in Christianity.
The other photo appeared to show Perry at a water day event with children.
Both photos have heart emojis, blocking out the faces of children.
Weaver said that children who may have had personal contact with Perry will be interviewed through the Children’s Recovery Center.
Warrants
WMBF News obtained copies of the arrest warrants for all four defendants.
They are all accused of withholding information about Perry’s sex offender status and his presence at Pawleys Island Christian Academy, acting to prevent proper reporting of the state’s law governing the protection and welfare of children and furthering Perry’s probation violation through multiple contacts with minors.
Additionally, Don Williams and Howard are accused of, while in a supervisory leadership role at the childcare facility, knowingly allowing and helping a registered sex offender to be in contact with minors, concealing that information from teachers and staff, and placing children at unreasonable risk of harm.
According to the warrants, Perry conspired with church leadership to conceal the particulars of his probation requirements and concealed his contact with minors during his regular work at the establishment.
Weaver said more charges are possible for all four and others connected to the church.
Weaver also added that deputies will be looking at how people at the church were paid.
On Sunday, investigators executed a search warrant at both the church and the school, and Weaver said investigators recovered a large number of records.
Earlier that day, community members gathered outside the church to protest, holding signs calling for the protection of children and asking for answers and change.
How We Got Here
At a community meeting Tuesday, Don Williams said Perry first came to the church in 2020 at the invitation of a friend who was his financial advisor.
Don Williams said he allowed Perry to attend Sunday service under strict conditions: Perry had to stay with his financial advisor at all times and never go near the children’s area.
Perry began attending adult Bible study and became friends with a staff maintenance man who began to mentor him.
In 2021, Perry professed faith in Christ and demonstrated what Don Williams described as genuine spiritual growth as he began helping around the campus, always supervised by staff, Don Williams said.
Perry pled guilty in November 2023 to sexual exploitation of a minor and was sentenced to 10 years, which was suspended to five years of probation. As a condition of his probation, Perry was prohibited from contact with minors.
When Perry was placed on probation in 2023, Don Williams said the church put stringent safeguards and accountability measures in place.
The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services approved Perry to volunteer at the church, in part because of character witness statements provided by Don Williams. Perry was explicitly instructed not to have direct contact with minors.
However, Perry never disclosed to his probation officer that the church also operates a school. His volunteer information was entered into Offender Watch, a public database, listing him as a volunteer at the church, with no mention of the school.
Don Williams publicly acknowledged that he and other church leaders knew about Perry’s conviction. Williams said leadership made a judgment call about how widely to share the information.
“Do we tell every teacher? Do we tell every school volunteer? Do we tell all the parents?” Don Williams said, according to video of the Tuesday meeting posted online.
Williams resigned Friday, the same day a $25 million lawsuit was filed against the church and school.
On July 13, a concerned parent contacted the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office after learning Perry was working as a custodian in the school. The sheriff’s office immediately contacted SCDPPPS, which investigated and arrested Perry for giving his probation officer untruthful reports and failing to refrain from contact with minors.
Weaver, who confirmed he has a relative who attends the school, defended his office’s role in the case during Monday’s press conference.
“The sex offender registry worked on our part,” Weaver said. “They put him in close proximity to the children. They reported to the sheriff’s office. We immediately reported it to Triple P, who was governing Mr. Perry at the time.”
Solicitor Jimmy Richardson reminded the community that at this point, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty.
But Richardson also thanked the community for bringing this to light and the sheriff’s office for its hard work.
Richardson also noted that the South Carolina attorney general offered help on the case.
Anyone who has not yet spoken with investigators is asked to call the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office at 843-546-5102.
RELATED COVERAGE:
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WMBF. For more free content like this, download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.
Copyright 2026 WMBF. All rights reserved.
