Payton Shires, 24, is facing charges including unlawful sexual conduct with a minor after Columbus Police Department investigators claim they discovered texts she exchanged with the alleged victim as well as a videos of the two having sexual intercourse.
An Ohio social worker who is accused of having a sex with a 13-year-old boy allegedly threatened his mother by firing a gun at her home when she learned about the relationship, according to a lawsuit.
Payton Shires, 24, is facing charges including unlawful sexual conduct with a minor after investigators with the Columbus Police Department discovered texts she exchanged with the alleged victim as well as a videos of the two having sexual intercourse and engaging in other sex acts, according to the criminal complaint filed last month.
Now, the alleged victim and his mother are both suing Shires for intentional criminal wrongdoing and seeking punitive damages in excess of $25,000, per a lawsuit filed in Franklin County Court obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
That lawsuit cites two examples of intentional criminal wrongdoing: sexual battery and intimidating a witness.
The mother of the alleged victim claims that on Oct. 6, Shires "made a threatening phone call to [her], then later appeared at the house of [the alleged victim and his mother] with a gun, fired a shot, and continued to engage in threatening an intimidating behavior."
A lawyer for Shires did not respond to a request for comment.
The plaintiffs are also seeking damages in excess of $25,000 to be paid out by Shires' employer, the National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP).
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.
The mother of the alleged victim contacted police in September after finding messages exchanged between her son and Shires, according to the criminal complaint filed in Franklin County Municipal Court.
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 police who, after obtaining a search warrant, discovered a video 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 alleged relationship, 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 and charged her with discharging a firearm and threatening a witness for the actions she allegedly committed at the home of the alleged victim and his mother, as detailed in the lawsuit.
Shires remains in custody at the Franklin County Jail, according to the lawsuit.
The case was bound over to a grand jury last month and removed from the municipal court to the court of common pleas after Shires waived her right to a preliminary hearing, court records show. The prosecution will now have 60 days to try and indict Shires under Ohio law, and if they do not, charges could be dismissed in the case under Ohio law.
Shires entered a not guilty plea to all of the charges filed against her in both arrests and despite the allegations is still listed as a licensed social worker practicing in the state of Ohio.
