Shortey’s mugshot | Photo: Video/Oklahoma News 4
Former Republican Senator from Oklahoma, Ralph Shortey, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for child sex trafficking.
U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGiusti gave the sentence on Monday (17 September). Shortey faced a sentence anywhere from 10 years to life in prison.
DeGiusti also gave Shortey 10 years probation once his prison sentence is complete. He will also issue a fine, possibly up to $250,000, at a later date, according to NBC.
Shortey pled guilty last November. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped three charges of child pornography.
Abrupt consequences
Shortey was caught with a 17-year-old male teen in a motel last March. An investigation revealed Shortey offered the boy, who he referred to as ‘baby boy’ in messages, money in exchange for ‘sexual stuff’.
The victim’s father tipped off the investigation.
The discovery quickly ended his political career.
Shortey, who was first elected to the Senate in 2010, resigned not long after. He was elected twice before his resignation. He was also an early endorser of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Further investigations by the FBI revealed Shortey used pseudonyms on Cragislist to converse with young men, and exchange pornography with them.
In these exchanges, Shortey also allegedly wrote ‘the younger the better’ in seeking out encounters with these young men.
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