A South Carolina church is facing mounting backlash after admitting that senior leaders knowingly allowed a registered sex offender to volunteer on a campus that includes a preschool and elementary school-until his arrest this week for violating probation.
The controversy has engulfed Pawleys Island Community Church (PICC) after 70-year-old Warren Perry was arrested on July 14. According to the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, Perry violated the terms of his probation stemming from a 2023 conviction for sexual exploitation of a minor by volunteering at a church campus that houses Pawleys Island Christian Academy, which serves children from infancy through kindergarten.
The arrest triggered an explosive congregational meeting where Senior Pastor Don Williams faced furious parents demanding to know why Perry had been allowed on campus and why families were never told about his criminal history.
Reading from a prepared statement, Williams said church leaders believed Perry had experienced genuine repentance after professing faith in Christ and had allowed him to continue serving under what he described as strict safeguards. According to the pastor, Perry was never supposed to be alone with children, was required to remain under staff supervision, and was restricted from children's ministry areas.
Those assurances did little to calm the crowd.
Parents repeatedly interrupted Williams, insisting Perry had, in fact, interacted with children. When Williams acknowledged that Perry's status as a registered sex offender had been disclosed only to church leaders, staff members, and school leadership-not to teachers or parents-the room erupted. As the pastor asked whether leaders should have informed every teacher, volunteer, and parent, congregants shouted back in unison: "Yes!"
The meeting took another emotional turn when a sobbing woman claimed she had reported that her child had been molested at the church several years earlier and alleged her concerns were dismissed at the time. The allegation has not been publicly substantiated, but it intensified calls from members for greater transparency and accountability.
Williams maintained there is currently no evidence that Perry abused any child while volunteering at the church or school. He also said church leaders believed Perry was complying with the conditions of his probation until authorities informed them otherwise following his arrest.
In response, the church announced immediate policy changes, including enhanced background checks and new approval requirements for anyone volunteering on campus while children are present. Leaders also pledged a comprehensive review of the church's child safety policies.
The incident has ignited a broader conversation about how churches should balance the biblical themes of grace and redemption with their responsibility to protect children and communicate openly with parents. For many families at Pawleys Island Community Church, however, the central question remains whether church leaders exercised the transparency and judgment the situation required.
