The mother of a 13-year-old sexual abuse victim issued a scathing message to the counselor who admitted raping her son, saying she has had a ‘devastating impact’ on the child’s life.
The unidentified mother said in a statement read in court on Thursday that Payton Shires’ actions have caused her family to lose faith in the system that is designed to help them.
‘Instead, he was manipulated, groomed and sexually abused by Ms. Shires,’ the mother’s statement said, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
‘I regret I ever let you in my house,’ the mother added just before the former social worker was sentenced to more than four years before bars.
Shires, 24, pleaded guilty in May to four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, one count of inducing panic with firearms and one count of intimidating witness or victim.
Payton Shires, 24, was sentenced to more than four years behind bars on Thursday for sexually abusing a 13 year old boy
The boy’s mother has said she began suspecting Shires of engaging in predatory behavior when she noticed some texts between the licensed counselor and her son on his phone.
In one of those messages, Shires asked the boy whether he had ‘deleted the videos’ – and whether anyone had ever seen them.
Those videos were not deleted, the Columbus Police Department would later discover, and an ensuing forensic investigation of the teen’s cellphone turned up even more incriminating messages – and at least one video of Shires and the boy engaging in sex.
Cops afterwards wrote in arrest documents that the boy later told them that the alleged sexual relationship started in September.
Police then set up a three-way call between the mother, detectives and Shires, where the social worker reportedly admitted to the sexual relationship.
She was then arrested in October 2023 – just four months after she obtained her social worker license.
State records show her counseling license was issued on June 12, 2023, and she was hired to work for the National Youth Advocate Program.
The program, which supports families in the foster care system or who need advocacy, fired Shires following her arrest, the Dispatch reports.
Her arrest came just four months after she obtained her social worker license
Shires was arrested in October 2023, after she reportedly admitted to the sexual relationship in a phone call with the boy’s mom
Shires was released following her arrest on a $50,000 bond – but then showed up at the victim’s home with a gun – claiming the boy’s mom ‘ruined her life’ and had ‘taken everything from her’ for reporting the abuse.
She also allegedly threatened to kill the boy’s mother – and was later charged with witness-tampering. When a judge read the new charges in October, she was seen sobbing.
But in court on Thursday, Shires apologized for her behavior that day.
‘I was not thinking rationally at the time that I showed up to the mother’s house,’ she said.
‘I was extremely suicidal. I never had intentions to harm anybody but myself.
‘And I’m just thankful that she took the right steps to call the police,’ Shires continued. ‘She saved my life that day.’
‘And also, I just feel horrible for the mistakes I made,’ she added.
Her defense attorney noted that she has a 4-year-old son as she pleaded for leniency
She then pleaded to Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Serrott for a lenient sentence, with her attorney, Gregg Slemmer, noting that she has a 4 year old son whom she is unable to see – and has suffered from serious mental health issues for which she has never fully gotten the help she needs.
‘It was always her intent to help this individual,’ Slemmer argued. ‘The lines got blurred.’
Judge Mark Serrott hit out at Shires for violating her position of trust
But Judge Serrott chided Shires for violating her position of trust.
‘He was a child,’ the judge said. ‘He was trying to get the help he needed.’
He went on to slam Shires for suggesting that the victim tried to coerce or blackmail her into continuing the relationship.
‘You’re the adult,’ Serrott said. ‘You’re trained professionally to avoid situations like this.’
In the end, Serrott sentenced the former social worker to four years and nine months in state prison – with 253 days credit for pretrial detention.
She has the potential of release for good behavior – a form of parole with mandatory counseling – after 18 months behind bars.
If she is denied the early release, Shires will remain on supervised release for five years.
She must also register as a sex offender every 180 days for 25 years following her release.