This Horry County daycare is under state investigation following operator’s arrest
An Horry County daycare is under state investigation following the arrest of its operator and reports of child neglect and numerous recent “high severity” violations.
Rodney Wayne Cox, operator of Conway Christian Academy located on Main Street, was arrested March 30 and charged with unlawful neglect of a child, according to public records.
The arrest, first reported by My Horry News, came after Cox allegedly “unlawfully (bent) the minor victim over his lap and spank her buttocks repeatedly,” a warrant states. The spanking allegedly took place at the daycare center between August 2021 and January 2022, the warrant says.
Cox’s lawyer, Johnny Gardner, didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
A call to the daycare center went unanswered. The call from a reporter was disconnected before being transferred to a voicemail box.
“DSS, through its Child Care Licensing office, is currently investigating the Conway Christian Academy and is unable to provide any information on the center due to the ongoing investigation,” DSS spokesperson Will Batchelor said in an email to The Sun News.
A DSS worker reported Cox to the police in January in relation to a different incident, records show. A minor child reported allegations of sexual assault while he was at the daycare, My Horry News reported. Cox was listed as the suspect in a police report, but no charges were filed against him for that incident.
DSS reported 33 violations at Conway Christian Academy in 2021. Of those, 27 were of “high severity” and the remaining six were “medium severity,” according to the DSS website. The violations range from deficiency in feeding, eating and drinking to staff requirements.
Nine of the violations are still under investigation.
DSS rates daycare centers who enroll in the ABC Quality program on a tiered scale from A+ to C, with a C grade still meeting the minimum state standards. Conway Christian Academy received a C grade, according to the DSS website.
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 11:16 AM.
