Attorney: Pawleys Island-area church chose cover-up over justice for 5-year-old assault victim

[00:00:00]It is 6:00. Thanks for being with us.

[00:00:02]I'm Eric Wice.

[00:00:03]>> And I'm Nicole Danceler. Continuing coverage, a third lawsuit has been filed against Pawleys Island Community Church and Christian Academy, Nikki Howard and Donny and Jenny Williams.

[00:00:13]>> Our Catherine Schreiner sits down with one of the victims' attorneys to learn more about that filing. She joins us now. Catherine, tell us more.

[00:00:20]>> Yeah, I sat down with attorney Kenneth Burger today to walk through what this lawsuit claims. The suit alleges the church, the academy, Nikki Howard and the Williams were all negligent. And that negligence allowed for the assault of a 5-year-old at the academy in 2022.

[00:00:38]>> And for the rest of of Warren Perry and the Williams and Miss Howard's lives, we want them to never forget this child, never forget what happened to this child because of their recklessness and their indifference.

[00:00:51]>> Burger says in 2022, the 5-year-old was caught recreating inappropriate actions he believed were a game taught to him by someone at the academy. When asked to describe who taught him, his description matched sex offender Warren Spence Perry. The parents took their concerns straight to academy director Nikki Howard, but according to Burger, Howard's response raised red flags.

[00:01:15]>> She begins questioning whether or not the child is a liar and tends to make things up. And what we learned in the last 24 hours is that Miss Howard went so far as to contact this child's teacher to see if there were other instances of the child making things up.

[00:01:30]>> The child's pediatrician later filed a report of the alleged assault as a mandatory reporter, but police dismissed it saying there wasn't enough evidence.

[00:01:39]This lawsuit claims Perry was given unsupervised access to children even though leaders knew he was a registered offender. And that by allowing that, the church put every child in its care at risk. The complaint accuses all defendants, including Howard and the Williams, of negligent hiring, supervision, monitoring, and retention, and civil conspiracy.

[00:02:02]>> By giving statements to state agencies, by trying to silence the victims and families and teachers, all because they knew what they were doing was wrong and was going to come at the risk of the finances and reputation of the church, and they chose to do it anyways. It's indefensible.

[00:02:18]>> The family is seeking actual and punitive damages, both to help their son heal and to send a message to other institutions. Berger says he hopes this case delivers justice beyond just his client.

[00:02:31]>> I've got not only a legal duty as an attorney to pursue justice here, but as a father, as a citizen of South Carolina, I can't stop until full justice is done to protect not only this child and other children, but to protect my own child as well.

[00:02:45]>> Once evidence and assets are secured, the case moves into discovery, where Berger says he'll be looking for any texts, emails, or communications from Howard or the Williams that mention Perry. In the control room, Catherine Shriner, WMKF News.