Anti-LGBT Oklahoma Lawmaker Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Child Sex Trafficking

You may recall the sad tale of former Oklahoma state Sen. Ralph Shortey, who was found in a room at a Motel 6 with a 17-year-old boy on March 9, 2017.

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When officers entered the hotel room it reeked of marijuana, according to police reports.

Text messages were discovered between him and the underage teen that showed the boy asked Shortey if he could earn some money for spring break.

Shortey apparently replied, “I don’t really have any legitimate things I need help right now. Would you be interested in ‘sexual’ stuff?”

An affadavit filed in the case revealed explicit text messages Shortey exchanged with the juvenile included mentions of bareback sex with the teen calling the lawmaker “daddy” and Shortey addressing the juvenile as “baby boy.”

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In one message, Shortey told the teen, "I'm going to f**k you like a good little boy if you keep calling me daddy."

According to NewsOK, Shortey had met the victim on a previous occasion for sex when the teen was 16-years-old through a Craigslist ad.

In November of last year, Shortey, who had served as the Oklahoma state chair for Donald Trump's presidential campaign, agreed to a guilty plea of child sex trafficking.

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As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped three other charges of child pornography that had been filed against him.

Facing life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, Shortey was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison plus 10 years of supervision upon release from prison. Additionally, he will have to pay $5,100 in special assessments and register as a sex offender.

During his time as a state lawmaker, Shortey was infamous for introducing strange legislation like banning human fetuses in food products (that happens?) and, of course, voting for every piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation put before him.

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The 36-year-old had been married to his high school sweetheart since 2002 and has four daughters. His wife filed for divorce shortly after Shortey’s arrest and it was granted this past April.

 

 

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