Social worker gets busted after doing the unthinkable with a 13 year old she was supposed to be helping.
Meet Payton Shires a social worker employed by a youth advocate program and assigned to provide professional counseling and support to a 13-year-old boy.
Instead of helping him, Shires crossed severe professional and legal boundaries, engaging in unlawful misconduct with her minor client.
โThe situation came to light when the boyโs mother grew suspicious and examined her sonโs phone, discovering messages from Shires trying to cover up the behavior. The mother immediately contacted law enforcement.
Shires was initially arrested but quickly posted a $500,000 bond. Almost immediately upon her release, the situation escalated into a crisis. Shires made harassing phone calls to the victimโs mother and drove directly to the family's residence.
โThe mother spotted Shires outside via a doorbell camera and alerted the police. When Columbus Police tactical officers arrived at the scene, they found Shires on the front porch experiencing a severe mental health crisis while armed. Officers successfully de-escalated the situation, safely disarmed her, and took her into custody.
Shires pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including unlawful sexual misconduct with a minor, inducing panic with a firearm specification, and intimidation of a witness.
โThe judge noted during sentencing that Shires had severely violated a position of trust, noting that her training as a professional should have prevented the boundaries from being broken. She was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, permanently stripped of her social work license, and ordered to register as a sex offender for 25 years.
How does this sentence make you feel, was justice served or yet another example of soft on crime?