Oklahoma State Sen. Ralph Shortey has been charged with three felonies after Moore police said they found him with a teenage boy at a motel, according to NBC News and other outlets. Shortey, a Republican from Oklahoma City, was a leader in Donald Trump’s Oklahoma primary campaign, according to news reports.
Police say officers went to a motel in Moore for a welfare check shortly after Shortey checked in around midnight on March 9. According to NBC News, they found him in a room with a 17 year old boy, who police have not named. Police said they obtained a search warrant for the teen’s tablet. Charging documents, as reported by NBC News, describe an online conversation between the two that turned sexually explicit and involved money.
Cleveland County prosecutors charged Shortey with engaging in child prostitution, engaging in prostitution within 1,000 feet of a church, and transporting a minor for prostitution or lewdness. According to the Moore police report, Shortey told officers they were “just hanging out.” No other statement from him or an attorney had been reported at the time.
Moore police said the investigation is ongoing and that records will be made available once releasing them will not hurt the investigation. In the days after the incident, the Oklahoma Senate voted 43 to 0 to strip most of his privileges, and Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb called on him to resign, according to NBC News. The charges are allegations, and Shortey is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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