A social worker in Ohio has been apprehended on charges of engaging in sexual activities with a 13-year-old boy, whom she was assigned to counsel, according to law enforcement and local reports.
Payton Shires, 24, purportedly confessed to these deeply troubling actions during a phone conversation with the boy’s mother and detectives from the Columbus Police Department, as reported by local sources.
Shires, who hails from Mount Sterling, had previously been employed by the National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP), an organization specializing in assisting families involved with the foster care system, according to the Columbus Dispatch. It remains uncertain whether she was assigned to counsel the boy through NYAP.
The boy’s mother contacted the police on September 27, expressing her concerns after reportedly discovering inappropriate text messages exchanged between her son and Shires, as indicated in court documents.
Law enforcement officers conducted an examination of the phone and found footage that depicted the boy and Shires engaging in sexual contact.
During interviews with investigators, the boy purportedly acknowledged having engaged in sexual activities with Shires on at least two occasions in September.
“Authorities said the boy had told detectives that the two had been engaged in intercourse at least twice in various parts of Columbus. During a controlled three-way call between Shires, the boy’s mother, and police, Shires admitted to the sexual relationship. Authorities arrested her Friday without incident,” ABC News reported.
Subsequently, Shires was taken into custody on a Friday after purportedly confirming her actions to the boy’s mother during a monitored phone call with the police.
Shires is facing charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and is presently held on a bond, as reported by WSYX. State records indicate that Shires obtained her social worker’s license in June.
“Shires appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court on Friday where her bond was set at just over $500,000. A hearing is scheduled for Shires on October 16,” ABC News reported.
In response to this distressing situation, the National Youth Advocate Program released a statement, expressing their sadness about the involvement of one of their former employees with a young person served by their organization.
“The National Youth Advocate Program is saddened by the situation involving one of our former employees and a young person served by our organization,’’ the organization claimed in a statement.
