PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. (BFMG) — State child care regulators repeatedly reprimanded Pawleys Island Christian Academy for serious licensing violations in the two years leading up to the arrest of a convicted sex offender who was working around children on the church-run campus, newly obtained records show.
Inspection reports from the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS), which licenses Pawleys Island Christian Academy, indicate the center received multiple “high” severity alerts tied to staffing, background checks and documentation requirements in 2024 and 2026.
On Feb. 13, 2024, DSS inspectors visited the academy and found the center did not have adequate staff-to-child ratios and was missing required health assessments for two staff members. The inspection also noted that two “unqualified caregivers” were working without completed SLED background check clearances and that central registry documentation had not been printed and placed in their personnel files, in violation of state child care regulations…