Another Horry Schools special education employee arrested. Here’s the details
A former Horry County Schools special education aide was arrested and charged with cruelty to children after allegedly shaking and yelling at a 6-year-old nonverbal student with autism.
Richard Heath Lowman, 53, was working at Daisy Elementary in Loris when a witness walking by his classroom observed him holding the student’s wrists, shaking him and yelling, “You will listen to me,” according to Horry County Police records. The police report notes no visible injuries were present on the child, but the warrant states the victim suffered two wrist strains.
The alleged abuse occurred on April 9, and Lowman was placed on administrative leave April 10, pending investigation, according to HCS spokeswoman Lisa Bourcer. He resigned on April 28, she added.
The student’s parent filed a lawsuit against the district last week, alleging the child was left in Lowman’s care for the rest of the school day even after the alleged abuse was reported to administrators.
The incident report states that police were called to the school the day after the incident because the employee in charge of conducting an internal investigation wasn’t at work on April 9 due to personal reasons.
The parent’s lawsuit notes that this same employee during an earlier date put his feet on top of the student’s feet to restrain their movement, an inappropriate restraint method that was also reported to school administrators, who failed to act.
Lowman is the fourth HCS employee in recent years arrested on charges related to alleged abuse of students receiving special education services.
A former Ocean Bay Elementary special education teacher pled guilty in 2023 to child neglect charges after being accused of hitting students and rubbing hand sanitizer on a student’s open wound. Ocean Bay’s principal at the time was also charged with failing to report the neglect, though her charges were later dropped.
Another former special education teacher from St. James Intermediate School was arrested in 2023 and charged with cruelty to children after allegedly pinning down a student and sitting on their legs. That charge remains pending, according to online court records.
More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed since 2018 against HCS alleging damages suffered by students receiving special education services, according to a previous Sun News review.
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 3:11 PM.
