PAWLEYS ISLAND (SC)
WPDE - ABC 15 [Conway SC]
November 6, 2026
By Caroline Surface
All charges against the defendants in the Pawleys Island Community Church and Academy case have been dismissed, according to defense attorney Erin Bailey.
This includes Pastor Don Williams, his wife Ginny Williams, school director Niki Howard and the director of operations and missions, Michael Anthony Fields. All were arrested in connection with this case. Registered sex offender Warren Perry was also released from jail.
Perry is the individual at the center of the case and a registered sex offender following his 2023 guilty plea to sexual exploitation of a minor.
The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office released a statement to the community following the dismissal of charges.
“As your Sheriff, 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,” Sheriff Carter Weaver said.
“I stand firmly behind the thorough work of this agency’s investigators and the agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. I look forward – as does this community – 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.”
Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the church and former school.
This is a developing story.
MORE: Warrants say Warren Perry ‘knowingly’ sought out child pornography materials in 2020