COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former licensed social worker who had sex with her client — a 13-year-old boy — was sentenced to nearly five years in prison on Thursday.
Payton Shires, of Mount Sterling, pleaded guilty in May to four counts of unlawful sexual misconduct with a minor, one count of inducing panic with a firearm specification and one count of intimidation to a victim or witness. A second count of intimidation and discharging of a firearm was dropped as part of her guilty plea.
Shires was arrested in October 2023 when she was accused of having sex multiple times with a 13-year-old client assigned to her for counseling.
Records say the victim's mother found messages between Shires and her son, asking him if his mother "had seen the videos or messages." The phone was turned over to the police.
Days later, records show detectives found a video on the teen's phone showing Shires and the teen having sex and engaging in other sex acts in various locations across Columbus. All the incidents happened in September 2023, according to court records.
Shires reportedly admitted to having sex with the teen on a three-way call between her, the teen's mother and detectives.
Weeks later, Shires was arrested again after showing up at the victim's home with a gun, according to court records. When police arrived at the home, Shires was sitting on the front porch with a gun to her head and her finger on the trigger. Records say that she was yelling that she wanted to kill herself and the victim's mother.
During her sentencing, Shires apologized for what happened and said she felt horrible for the mistakes she made.
"I just hope [the family] can find peace from this, that they can find peace and trust with their social workers in the future," she said.
On Thursday, the judge ordered that Shires serve four years and nine months in state prison. She will have 253 days of jail credit.
Additionally, Shires will have to register as a Tier 2 sex offender for 25 years.
The judge said Shires would have the opportunity to be released from prison if she maintains a good record. After her prison sentence, she will be on parole for five years.
In November 2023, the teen's mother filed a lawsuit against Shires' employer, the National Youth Advocate Program, saying the organization was negligent in hiring Shires because she wasn't competent to perform her duties. The mother and her son are seeking at least $50,000 in damages.