Payton Shires, a 24-year-old social worker in Ohio who recently received her license in June, was arrested last week for allegedly having sexual relations with a young boy she was assigned to counsel.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Shires was employed by the National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP) which specializes in working with families involved in the foster care system. The boy’s mother had contacted the police after discovering inappropriate text messages between Shires and her son.
Police conducted a search of Shires’ phone and found footage of the boy and Shires engaged in sexual contact. The boy admitted to having sex with Shires, who allegedly admitted the same during a call with the boy’s mother.
Shires was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Ohio social worker accused of having sex with 13-year-old client. The Columbus Division of Police SWAT team took Payton Shires, 24, into custody Friday. https://t.co/2uohAkKvI0 via @Yahoo
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“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,” the group said in a statement.
Shires is being held on $500,000 bond.
Over the course of the past year alone, a handful of teachers have been arrested on similar charges, including 25-year-old substitute teacher Alexis Mercedes Boberg in Baltimore, Beulah High School teacher Kelsie Schmidt in North Dakota, Rancocas Valley Regional High School teacher Alexandra Reiner in New Jersey, and 50-year-old Florida substitute teacher Angela Jean Stanton in Florida. Additionally, Texas teachers Meredith Null and Edna Longoria were arrested on similar charges.
As for why the number of these incidents has seemingly increased, studies suggest that smartphones are the primary reason for the spike in illicit relationships, as it allows teachers to communicate with the minors without supervision.
According to a report from the Texas Education Association, smartphones make it easy for teachers to privately text and talk with students and also make it possible for teachers and students to share explicit images.
