An Ohio social worker accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy in her care previously expressed support of the death penalty for pedophiles on social media, where she shared an image with the message, “Dead pedophiles don’t reoffend.”
An X account belonging to Payton Shires reveals the 24-year-old — who has been charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor — at one point in time supported the death penalty for pedophiles.
Shires seemingly backed capital punishment for those convicted of sexual abuse in 2020, retweeting a post on her personal X account featuring a vehicle’s bumper sticker that read: “Dead pedophiles don’t reoffend.”
The social worker also retweeted a post about a father who was trying to save his young daughter from being abused by her mother’s boyfriend.
In another post, Shires showed off her life, sharing pictures of her 1-year-old son, and fiance, and noting, “Own a house, have 3 dogs, got engaged, and have a 1 year old all at 21. So proud of these accomplishments.”
The charges were levied against the social worker following an Oct. 6 phone call with the boy’s mother and detectives from the Columbus Police Department, during which she admitted to the despicable behavior.
Shires landed herself in even more trouble when she later showed up at the teen’s home with a gun.
While away from home, the boy’s mother saw Shires on the doorbell camera and called the cops.
Responding officers found Shires sitting with a gun pointed at her head and her finger on the trigger — yelling that she was going to kill herself.
The boy’s mom reportedly told investigators that Shires called her and told her she wanted to kill her, then take her own life because she and her son had ruined her life.
Shires has been additionally charged with intimidation of a crime victim and intimidation of a crime witness.
Shires, who is from Mount Sterling, previously worked for the National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP), which specializes in working with families involved in the foster care system. It’s unclear whether she met the boy through NYAP.
The boy’s mother contacted police on Sept. 27 to report her suspicions after allegedly discovering inappropriate text messages between her son and Shires.
Investigators then conducted a search of the phone and allegedly discovered footage of the boy and Shires having sexual contact.
When police spoke with the teen, he reportedly admitted to having sex with Shires on at least two occasions in September.
State records show that the social worker was licensed in June.
Shires was initially held on $500,000 bond, which she posted on Oct. 12, but it had reportedly been revoked and she will remain jailed until her next court appearance on Nov. 6.
“The National Youth Advocate Program is saddened by the situation involving one of our former employees and a young person served by our organization,’’ the organization said in a statement.