Disgraced married former senator pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking after paying teenage boy for sex

Ralph Shortey

A Married Oklahoma senator was suspended earlier this year after he was found in a motel room with a teenage boy. The former Oklahoma state senator was charged in federal court with two counts of child pornography, production of child pornography, and child sex trafficking. 35-year-old Ralph Shortey was set to go on trial in 2 weeks but he decided to accept a plea deal with prosecutors. According to Shortey’s attorney Ed Blau, the senator has agreed to plead guilty to 1 count of child sex trafficking in exchange for dropping the three other charges.
Shortey was arrested after parents called the police for a welfare check when they saw their son going into a motel room. Officers responded to the motel and noted that there was a strong odor of marijuana coming from the room. Police in Oklahoma made contact with a man who reportedly claimed that he was in the room alone. However, officers who entered the room found 35-year-old Senator Ralph Shortey inside with the 17-year-old boy. The Republican senator, who is married and has two children, was seen at the Super 8 Motel in Moore, at around 1:00 a.m.
According to a court affidavit, Shortey had been in contact with the teenager on a regular basis through the YMCA Youth government program. The boy’s parents told police that he “has a history of selling his body on Craigslist for money.”
Officers said that they found an open box of condoms inside a backpack.