4 families file lawsuits against Horry County Schools, principal and teacher at center of child abuse investigation

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Four families on Friday filed lawsuits against Horry County Schools and the principal and special-education teacher at the center of a child abuse investigation.

All four suits, which were filed in Horry County Common Pleas Court, name Horry County Schools, Ocean Bay Elementary School Principal Rebecca Schroyer and Grace McColgan, a former special-education teacher at the school.

The lawsuits accuse the two women and the school district of gross negligence, negligent misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.

Schroyer and Grace McColgan were arrested on Nov. 2, 2022. Arrest warrants had accused Schroyer of knowing about the abuse allegations against McColgan and not reporting them to authorities as required by law.

The case was set to go to grand jury in January 2023 before the attorney general’s office referred it to the Department of Education in August. McColgan pleaded guilty to the charges in July and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Schroyer’s criminal charges were dropped earlier this month. She was hired by the district in 2001 and became the principal at Ocean Bay Elementary School in 2016. Her attorney told News13 after her arrest that Schroyer did everything according to the law by telling who she needed to tell.

The lawsuits seek an unspecified amount in damages to be determined by a jury trial.

Horry County Schools told News13 it does not comment on pending litigation. Schroyer remains on administrative leave.

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Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here .

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