The judge gave Patyton Shires, 25, credit for the 253 days served and said that with good behavior she could be eligible for release in just 18 months.
A judge in Ohio sentenced a social worker who confessed to having sex with a 13-year-old boy to 57 months in prison.
Payton Shires, 25, pleaded guilty in May to four counts of unlawful sexual misconduct with a minor, one count of inducing panic with a firearm specification and two counts of intimidation to a victim or witness after striking a deal with prosecutors.
In exchange for this plea, prosecutors dropped a charge of intimidation and discharging of a firearm, following an incident when Shires went to the victim's house with a gun after her initial arrest and threatened to kill the boy's mother and herself, according to a copy of the criminal complaint contained by Inside Edition Digital.
Shires had been facing over 28 years in prison for her offenses, but instead received 24 months for the four counts of unlawful sexual misconduct with a minor, nine months for the two counts of intimidation to a victim or witness, and 12 months for inducing panic, according to the sentencing sheet. The judge added 12 months because Shires armed herself with a gun and even fired a bullet when she confronted the victim's mother.
The judge gave Shires credit for the 253 days she has already served in jail and said that with good behavior she could be eligible for release in just 18 months. She will then be on probation for five years and must register as a Tier II sex offender every 180 days for the next 25 years, as per the sentencing guidelines handed down by the judge.
The mother of the alleged victim contacted police in September after finding messages exchanged between her son and Shires, according to the criminal complaint.
In one text, Shires allegedly asked the victim if he "had deleted the videos" and if "his mom had seen the videos or messages," says the complaint.
The mother gave the phone to investigators with the Columbus Police Department who, after obtaining a search warrant, discovered videos of the victim and Shires engaging in sexual relations, the complaint alleges
Police then listened in as the mother called Shires to confront her about the videos, at which time Shires admitted that she and the victim had engaged in sexual activity multiple times, according to the complaint.
Shires was arrested without incident on Oct. 6 and arraigned the following morning, court records show.
The judge set bond at $500,000 at that time, which Shires posted on Oct. 12, according to court records.
Two weeks after being released on bond, police arrested Shires again on Oct. 26 after she arrived at the victim's home with a gun and threatened to kill his mother and then herself, according to the complaint.
Shires and her former employer are also facing a lawsuit from the mother and her son. They are seeking damages in excess of $25,000 from Shires and the National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP), where she worked as a social worker.
Shires was fired by NYAP immediately after her arrest, but not after the boy's mother reported the social worker to her employer, according to the lawsuit.
NYAP responded to this lawsuit by denying any wrongdoing and saying they were unaware of Shires' criminal activity
John Fitch, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, says in the lawsuit that the mother of the alleged victim informed Shires' supervisor of NYAP about "inappropriate conduct" between her son and his social worker and requested "Shires be removed from [her son's] care."
NYAP "failed to remove Shires from [the boy's] care, and, as a direct result thereof said failure, the inappropriate sexual relationship continued with [the boy]," according to the lawsuit.
"Protecting children is everyone's responsibility. The National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP) is saddened by the situation involving one of our former employees and a young person served by our organization," NYAP said in a statement after Shires' arrest. "NYAP has reported the situation to Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) and is collaborating with them and the Columbus Police Department on this case."
NYAP did not respond to a request for additional comment.
A lawyer for Shires, who has a 4-year-old child, did not respond to a request for comment.
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