COLUMBUS, Ohio — A 24-year-old licensed social worker involved in counseling juveniles was arrested for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with a 13-year-old boy.
Columbus Division of Police SWAT team members took Payton H. Shires, of Mount Sterling, into custody on Friday.
Shires was accused of having sex multiple times with a 13-year-old client assigned to her for counseling. She was formerly employed by the National Youth Advocate Program, according to police.
Shires was charged with having unlawful sexual conduct of a minor, a third-degree felony.
According to Franklin County court records, the teen's mother called police on Sept. 27 after finding text messages between her son and Shires.
In the messages, Shires allegedly asked the teen if he had "deleted the videos," and if his mother had "seen the videos or messages." The teen's mother turned the phone over to the officers who responded to the call.
Records show that days later detectives found a video on that cellphone of Shires and the 13-year-old victim having sex and engaging in other sex acts at various locations in Columbus. All the incidents, according to court records, occurred in September.
Shires reportedly admitted to having sex with the teen on a three-way call between her, the teen's mother and detectives.
The investigation into Shires was handled by the Columbus Division of Police Exploited Children/PACT Unit, with the assistance of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Police said that additional charges against Shires could be added.
Shires appeared in court Saturday and had a bond set at $500,000. Her next scheduled court appearance is Oct. 16.
📺 10TV+ is available for free: Stay up to date on what's happening in your community with a 24/7 live stream and on demand content from 10TV — available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.