Former state Sen. Ralph Shortey’s mugshot
Former Oklahoma state Sen. Ralph Shortey, 35, R- Oklahoma City, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for soliciting sex online with a 17-year-old boy. The official charge was one count of child sex trafficking. Shortey was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release after his prison term and was fined $5,100.
Shortey was indicted a year ago and immediately resigned his position as a four-term Oklahoma senator after he was caught in a Moore, Okla. hotel room in March 2017. His wife divorced him soon after the charges were made. The couple has four children.
He pleaded guilty in December, but wasn’t sentenced until this week. Prosecutors asked for a 25-year sentence.
In court, he read an apology to his ex-wife and children, his former constituents and fellow Christians. Courthouse News said the boy’s father told police that his son had a history of soliciting sex on Craigslist.
Shortey was Oklahoma state chair of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
— David Taffet
