An Ohio social worker accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy she was counseling allegedly showed up at the child’s home with a gun and threatened to kill his mother for “ruining her life.”
She reportedly threatened to kill herself as well.
Payton Shires, 24, was arrested earlier this month for the alleged sexual contact, and again Thursday evening after going to her young victim’s home with a gun, according to Franklin County Municipal Court documents obtained by WBNS.
Police say Shires admitted to the abuse during a call with the boy’s mother and Columbus detectives, leading her to be charged on October 6 with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
The mother of the boy, who will not be publicly identified, contacted law enforcement on September 27 to report inappropriate text messages between her son and Shires, after which investigators made a disturbing discovery.
In the messages, Shires allegedly asked the young teen if he had “deleted the videos,” and if his mother had “seen the videos or messages.”
According to court documents, police found footage of Shires engaging in sex acts with the 13-year-old victim at various locations in Columbus in September.
“When they interviewed the boy, he reportedly admitted having sex with her on at least two occasions in September,” the New York Post reported.
After her initial arrest in early October, Shires was held on a $500,000 bond, which she posted on Oct. 12. It has now reportedly been revoked as she landed herself in jail again, where she will remain until her next court appearance on November 6.
At around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the licensed social worker reportedly went to the victim’s home. His mother was away but was able to see the suspected child abuser on her porch via her doorbell camera, WBSN reported.
In a statement to investigators, the boy’s mom claimed that Shires called her and told her she wanted to kill her, then herself, because she and her son had ruined her life by reporting the alleged abuse.
Officers arrived at the scene to find Shires sitting with a gun pointed at her head with her finger on the trigger, shouting threats to commit suicide, court records said.
Police were able to stop the situation from escalating and arrested the woman again.
In addition to the original charge of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, Shires has now been hit with charges for intimidation of a crime victim and intimidation of a crime witness.
Shires previously worked for the National Youth Advocate Program, a group that specializes in working with families involved in the foster care system, according to the Columbus Dispatch, though it is not clear whether she was assigned to the boy through the organization.
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