Payton Shires, Ohio social worker and counselor accused of having sex with 13 year old goes to her victim’s home and threatens to kill the boy’s mom and herself after blaming victim’s family for ‘ruining her life’.
From bad to worse. An Ohio social worker accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy in her care showed up with a gun at her alleged victim’s home — where she blamed the family for ‘ruining her life’ and allegedly threatened to kill the teen’s mom and herself.
Payton Shires, 24, of Mount Sterling, was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor on Oct. 6 after the counselor admitted to the alleged acts during a call with the boy’s mom and Columbus detectives.
But Shires landed in more trouble about 5:30 p.m. Thursday when she showed up at the teen’s home with a gun, WBNS reported. His mother was away but noticed the young woman on the porch via her doorbell camera, according to the outlet.
‘Did you delete the videos?’
Responding officers found Shires sitting with a gun pointed at her head and with a finger on the trigger — yelling that she was going to kill herself, according to court records.
The boy’s mom reportedly told investigators that Shires called her and told her she wanted to kill her, then take her own life because she and her son had ruined her life.
Shires has been additionally charged with intimidation of a crime victim and intimidation of a crime witness.
The suspect was previously employed by the National Youth Advocate Program, a group that specializes in working with families involved in the foster care system, according to the Columbus Dispatch. It was unclear whether she was assigned to the boy through NYAP.
The boy’s mother contacted police Sept. 27 to report her suspicions after allegedly discovering inappropriate text messages between her son and Shires. The victim’s mom came across text messages that inquired whether the teen had ‘deleted the videos’ and if his mom had seen them or the messages.
Abuse of trust, power and fame & deflecting accountability
Investigators allegedly discovered footage of the boy and Shires having sexual contact. When they interviewed the boy, he reportedly admitted having sex with her on at least two occasions in September.
Shires was initially held on $500,000 bond, which she posted on Oct. 12, but it had reportedly been revoked and she will remain jailed until her next court appearance on Nov. 6.
Not immediately clear is what led to the female counselor abusing her position of authority, trust and power and subjugating her teen male victim, nor how the woman came to the conclusion that she was not responsible for her own actions – but that the boy was.
