A former social worker in Ohio, accused of sexual activity with a juvenile, pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday.
Payton Shires, who was charged with eight felonies, including four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a juvenile, pleaded guilty to seven of them in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Shires, who was also charged with two counts of intimidating a witness/victim and one count each of discharging a handgun and causing panic, was set for a trial before submitting her plea.
Read: Florida Man Charged After Threatening Woman With A Hatchet
Shires’ sentence hearing is slated for June 27. She could face up to 28.5 years in prison.
According to NBC4, Shires will also be required to register as a Tier II sex offender every 180 days for the following 25 years.
The charge of discharging a firearm was withdrawn, but the creating panic charge carries a one-year firearm restriction.
The outlet reported that Shires was accused of having sex with a 13-year-old child for whom she was assigned to offer mental health counseling services under the National Youth Advocate Program.
She revealed to the police that she had many sex acts with the boy. According to NBC, the incidents occurred on September 16, 22, and 27, 2023.
Shires was also charged with two charges of witness intimidation after, according to Columbus police, violating the terms of her $500,000 release and visiting the victim’s home.
Read: The Case Of California Man Rotherie Durell Foster: A Plumber’s Path To Poison, Murder, And Fraud
She threatened to kill both the victim’s mother and herself, police say, and allegedly had a gun which she fired a round when she arrived at the house on October 26.
Columbus police initially became involved after the teen’s mother called to report text exchanges she discovered between him and Shires.
In a criminal complaint form, a detective noted that the social worker asked the 13-year-old if he deleted recordings if his mother had seen them, and if they had exchanged messages.
Read: The Heartbreaking Murder Of A 1-Year-Old Ohio Boy At The Hands Of Mom’s Boyfriend
The mother handed over her son’s phone to the Columbus Division of Police as proof of the acts.
Investigators obtained a warrant and discovered a video of Shires engaged in sexual acts with the teen on the cellphone.
According to NBC4, CPD then joined the mother for a phone chat with Shires, during which she admitted to having sexual relations with the 13-year-old child.
Help support the Tampa Free Press by making any small donation by clicking here.
Android Users, Click To Download The Tampa Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.