Social worker accused of having sex with teen retweeted post backing death penalty for pedophiles

[Pelosi Foundation]

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.

https://nypost.com/2023/10/31/news/social-worker-accused-of-
sexual-abuse-shared-post-backing-death-penalty-for-pedophiles/