Furious mother of 13-year-old boy who was raped by his female social worker reveals her biggest regret as the woman is sentenced to prison

The mother of a 13-year-old sexual abuse victim sent a devastating message to the counsellor who admitted raping her son and said she had had a “devastating impact” on the child’s life.

The unnamed mother said in a statement read in court Thursday that Payton Shires’ actions have caused her family to lose faith in the system that is supposed to help them.

“Instead, he was manipulated, manipulated and sexually abused by Ms. Shires,” the mother’s statement said. according to the Columbus dispatch.

“I regret ever letting you into my home,” the mother added just before the former social worker was sentenced to more than four years in prison.

Shires, 24, pleaded guilty in May to four counts of unlawful sexual acts with a minor, one count of causing panic with a firearm and one count of intimidating a witness or victim.

The boy’s mother says she began to suspect Shires of predatory behavior after seeing some text messages between the licensed counselor and her son on his phone.

In one of those messages, Shires asked the boy if he had “deleted the videos” – and if anyone had ever seen them.

Those videos were not deleted, Columbus police would later discover, and a subsequent forensic examination of the teen’s cellphone turned up even more incriminating messages — and at least one video of Shires and the boy having sex.

Officers wrote in arrest documents afterward that the boy later said the alleged sexual relationship had begun in September.

Police then arranged a three-way conversation between the mother, detectives and Shires, during which the social worker reportedly confessed to the sexual relationship.

She was arrested in October 2023, just four months after obtaining her license as a social worker.

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 reported.

Shires was released after her arrest after posting $50,000 bail, but then showed up at the victim’s house with a gun. She claimed the boy’s mother had “ruined her life” and “taken everything from her” because she reported the abuse.

She also allegedly threatened to kill the boy’s mother – and was later charged with witness tampering. She was seen sobbing as a judge read out the new charges in October.

But on Thursday, Shires apologized in court for her behavior that day.

“When I got to the mother’s house, I wasn’t being rational,” she said.

‘I was extremely suicidal. I never intended to harm anyone but myself.

“And I’m just grateful that she took the right steps to call the police,” Shires continued. “She saved my life that day.”

“And I also just feel terrible because of the mistakes I made,” she added.

She then joined forces with her attorney, Gregg Slemmer, to plead leniently to Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Serrott, meaning she never fully received the help she needed.

“It was always her intention to help this person,” Slemmer argued. “The lines have blurred.”

But Judge Serrott reprimanded Shires for breaching her position of trust.

“He was a child,” the judge said. “He was trying to get the help he needed.”

He then criticized Shires for suggesting the victim had coerced or blackmailed her into continuing the relationship.

“You’re the adult,” Serrott said. “You’re professionally trained to avoid these types of situations.”

Ultimately, Serrott sentenced the former social worker to four years and nine months in prison, including 253 days of pretrial detention.

She is eligible for release for good behavior, a form of conditional release with mandatory supervision, after 18 months in prison.

If she is denied parole, Shires will remain under supervision for another five years.

She must also register as a sex offender every 180 days for 25 years after her release.