An Ohio social worker who allegedly had sex with a teenage boy she was counseling had been planning her wedding before her arrest, .com can reveal.
An X profile belonging to 24-year-old Payton Shires has laid bare how she was engaged for over two years and had a three-year-old son with her fiancé.
Other posts shed light on their lifestyle, showing their newly-bought three-bedroom house costing $225,000.
In another, she appeared to back the death penalty for pedophiles, retweeting a post saying ‘dead pedophiles don’t reoffend’.
Shires was arrested in Columbus earlier this month for allegedly having sex with the 13-year-old boy she was supposed to be counseling.
She posted her $50,000 bond but was arrested on Thursday after allegedly showing up to the victim’s home with a gun threatening to kill his mother and herself.
Social media profiles confirmed to be Payton Shires’ laid bare the pending nuptials, and how the suspected pedophile has been engaged to the unnamed man for the better part of two years. Shires’ fiancé, pictured, is not involved with the case
Shires, a 24-year-old former Ohio social worker who allegedly had sex with a teenage boy she was counseling last month – was in the process of planning a wedding prior to hear arrest and also has a three-year-old son, .com can exclusively reveal
In one social media post, Shires appeared to condemn the same criminal group that she now could become a part of – reposting video of a driver’s bumper sticker that read: ‘Dead pedophile don’t reoffend. #savethechildren’
Bragging about her accomplishments and how she ‘owns a house, has 3 dogs, got engaged, and has a 1 year old’ all by the age of 21′ in one post, Shires’ life took a turn last month – when cops said the alleged victim’s mom found texts and sex videos on his phone.
Days later, Shires was in cuffs – after allegedly admitting she had engaged in a sexual relationship with the teenager, who has not been named for legal reasons.
The boy then told cops in Columbus he had sex with Shires at least twice, with both instances allegedly occurring somewhere in the city in September.
Months earlier Shires, a graduate of Ohio State, received her license to work as a social worker in June.
‘Own a house, have 3 dogs, got engaged, and have a 1 year old all at 21. So proud of these accomplishments,’ she tweeted roughly two years before – sharing images of her son, her fiancé’s proposal, and their then-new home in the process.
Other updates on the family’s doing saw her bill her life in the Ohio suburbs as ‘a movie’, along with a countless array of selfies celebrated with taglines like ‘Moms can be pretty too.’
The X profile – which has been confirmed by .com – further indicated she had been dating her partner for at least five years before her October 6 arrest, which came just months after she received a job at Columbus’s National Youth Advocate Program.
The group provides counseling, social work and advocacy for families involved in the foster care system, and at some point assigned her to counsel the victim.
Countless posts shed light on the life of the Mt. Sterling woman, and how she and her fiancé recently purchased a three-bedroom house for the family – which includes three dogs – to settle down. Shires’ fiancé, pictured at left, is not involved with the case
‘Own a house, have 3 dogs, got engaged, and have a 1 year old all at 21. So proud of these accomplishments,’ she tweeted after she and her partner bought the suburban Mt. Sterling three-bedroom for some $225,000
A little over a year before, in 2019, the pair gave birth to their son – who is now only a few years younger than the boy Shires, 24, stands accused of molesting. Her fiancé is not involved in the case
Other photos show her fiancé’s proposal, and how the pair had built a life together over the past few years
The firm has since parted ways with her – sometime after Shires found herself the center of the pedophilia scandal, which was added to this past Thursday when Shires allegedly showed up to the victim’s family home toting a gun.
Out on $50,000 bond at the time, Shires allegedly turned up threatening to kill herself and the boy’s mother – the one who reported her alleged behavior – for ‘ruining her life.’
She’s since been rearrested, and sobbed in court Saturday when a judge read her her new witness-tampering charges, which could add ten years in prison to her time.
She had already been facing sentence of somewhere been six to 18 months for the sex-related case – one that could see her be forced to register as a sex offender even after exiting prison.
In one social media post, Shires appeared to condemn the same criminal group that she is now accused of – reposting video of a driver’s bumper sticker that read: ‘Dead pedophile don’t reoffend. #savethechildren.’
Court records in Columbus, meanwhile, indicate no new bond for her has been granted after her recent outburst, and no new posts from the suspect show her situation since her October 6 arrest, which cops said came ‘without incident’ after Shires allegedly owned up to the relationship during a call with the boy’s mom.
She was arrested again this past Thursday, after allegedly showing up to the the 13-year-old’s home with a gun while out on $50,000 bond. She is said to have had sex with the teen at least twice in September
Shires’ second, Saturday arraignment is seen here. Cops told the court how the former social worker said the family had ‘ruined her life’ and had ‘taken everything from her’ by reporting her alleged activity to cops – after allegedly finding texts and sex clips on the kids’ phone
‘I didn’t want to kill her, no…’ Shires, of Mt. Sterling, sobbed as she told a judge she had no intention to kill the woman who reported her alleged behavior to police late last month
A little more than a week earlier, the concerned parent contacted the Columbus Police Department with suspicions that Shires and the teen’s relationship spanned more than just counseling, spurring them to search the boy’s cellphone.
Cops afterwards wrote in arrest documents that the boy later told them that the alleged sexual relationship started in September.
Cops said they found a video of the social worker and the boy she was assigned to for counseling having intercourse.
Messages also allegedly included ones asking if the boy had deleted certain videos – and whether or not the mom had seen them.
Detectives cited how the boy told police he had sex at least twice with Shires in various places throughout Columbus.
Shires’ life took a turn when cops said the boy’s mom found texts and sex videos on the kids’ phone last month. Her fiancé, pictured, is not involved with the case
Days later, she was in cuffs – after allegedly admitting to cops that she had engaged in a sexual relationship with the teen
The boy then told cops in Columbus he had sex with Shires – seen here with her son in 2019 – at least twice, with both instances allegedly occurring somewhere in Columbus
Police’s initial mug shot of Shires, who is white with blue eyes and dyed blond hair. State records indicate she received her social work license in June of this year
Her former bosses told .com they could not comment due to the ongoing police case – which will be next addressed in court on November 6.
It remains unclear if she has yet enlisted an attorney. ‘I didn’t want to kill her, no…’ Shires, of Mt. Sterling, sobbed as she told a judge she had no intention to kill the woman who reported her alleged behavior to police late last month.
Cops who cuffed Shires a second time told the court she believed the family had ‘ruined her life’ and had ‘taken everything from her’ by reporting her alleged activity.
Those assertions came weeks after she allegedly admitted to having sex with the boy during a three-way call between the mother and Columbus PD detectives.
When asked, Shires’ previous employer would not disclose why she stopped working for them, citing confidentiality and the ongoing police case.
‘Protecting children is everyone’s responsibility,’ program reps said in a statement sent to .com, adding that it ‘is saddened by the situation involving one of our former employees and a young person served by our organization.’
They added: ‘NYAP has reported the situation to Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) and is collaborating with them and the Columbus Police Department on this case.’ Both of Shires’ cases are currently ongoing.