Social worker convicted of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy

Left: Payton Shires in court in Franklin County on June 26, 2024 (Screenshot/WBNS); Right: She is seen in a booking photo (Columbus Police Department)

An Ohio psychotherapist could spend the next few years behind bars after using her position as a social worker to repeatedly sexually abuse a 13-year-old boy she was supposed to be helping.

In May, 24-year-old Payton Harleigh Shires pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual abuse of a minor, one count of scaremongering with a firearm and one count of intimidation of a witness or victim.

On Thursday, Judge Mark Serrott of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas sentenced Shires to a possible sentence of four years and nine months in state prison – with credit for 253 days of pretrial confinement. After 18 months, she will have the opportunity to be released on good behavior parole, a form of probation with mandatory counseling. If denied early release, the disgraced social worker will remain on probation for five years. She will also have to register as a sex offender every 180 days for 25 years after her release.

According to a court report obtained by the Columbus Dispatch, several statements were made during the sentencing hearing.

The judge reportedly acknowledged Shires’s remorse, but reprimanded the convicted woman for abusing her position of trust.

“He was a child,” Serrott told her. “He was trying to get the help he needed.”

An even harsher statement from the boy’s mother was read out in court. She said the family had lost faith in a system designed to help them because of the “devastating impact” Shires’ actions had on them.

“Instead, he was manipulated, groomed and sexually abused by Ms. Shires,” the statement said. “I regret ever allowing you into my home.”

More law and crime coverage: Social worker accused of abusing 13-year-old boy and threatening his mother for calling police now faces lawsuit for ‘permanent’ harm and ‘mental anguish’

Shires was arrested on her birthday in October 2023, just four months after she received her license as a social worker.

Shortly after receiving her license, she was hired by the National Youth Advocacy Program. In late September 2023, she was reported to Columbus Police for allegedly admitting to the abuse during a phone call with the boy’s mother while police were listening in.

During that call, the boy’s mother said she saw text messages from Shires to her son asking if his mother had “seen the videos or messages” or if those videos had been deleted. As Columbus police later discovered, those texts and videos were not deleted. A forensic examination of the boy’s cellphone found several more incriminating messages and at least one video of the child and adult engaging in sexual activity.

Later, while free on $500,000 bail, she showed up at the victim’s home with a gun and claimed the boy’s mother had “ruined her life” by reporting her to police. Alleged death threats against the mother and herself were ineffective – but the ordeal violated several conditions of her pre-trial release.

More legal and crime coverage: Social worker faces prison again after allegedly showing up at the home of a 13-year-old sexual abuse victim with a gun and claiming the boy’s mother had “ruined her life”

The defendant, for her part, addressed a mea culpa – and thank you – to the victim’s mother on Thursday.

“I wasn’t thinking rationally when I got to the mother’s house,” she said. “I was extremely suicidal. I never intended to harm anyone but myself. And I’m just grateful that she took the right steps and called the police. She saved my life that day. And besides, I just feel terrible about the mistakes I made.”

While the judge was open to apologies, he took a somewhat harsher tone when he recounted an argument made by the defendants in court. Shires, who pleaded for mitigation, suggested that the victim had attempted to coerce or blackmail her into continuing their illicit relationship.

“You are the adult,” Serrott said. “You are professionally trained to avoid such situations.”

Matt Naham contributed to this report.

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