Who Is Ralph Shortey? Former Oklahoma Senator Pleads Guilty To Child Trafficking

A former Oklahoma senator who was accused of offering to pay a 17-year-old boy for sexual relations has pleaded guilty to the charges pressed against him, reports said Saturday.

Former Republican Sen. Ralph Shortey, in a plea deal, wrote: “It is in my best interest and in the best interest of my family.”

Federal prosecutors agreed to drop three counts of child pornography against Shortey in exchange for his guilty plea.

The 35-year-old will be required to serve a minimum term of 10 years in prison — the mandatory term for those convicted of child trafficking.

The federal indictment against Shortey mentions that the former senator, under a fake name, created a Craigslist account where he requested anyone responding to his ads communicate with him via Kik, a social media application that allows users to send photos, videos, and text messages.

The indictment also stated that Shortey had used his email account to transfer a video titled “051^st Time Sex Videos.”

In the third count against him, Shortey was convicted for communicating with a minor boy named John Doe via Kik.

“Between on or about Feb. 14, 2016, and on or about March 8, 2017, in the Western District of Oklahoma, Shortey employed, used, persuaded, induced, and enticed a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct, and such visual depiction was actually transported and transmitted using a means and facility of interstate and foreign commerce, in that Shortey so obtained at least one image of John Doe's penis,” a part of the indictment read.

The indictment also details a conversation that took place between Shortey and the minor.

Earlier in March, Doe [the minor victim] had sent a text message to Shortey saying: "I need money for spring break.”

Shortey responded to the message saying: "I don't really have any legitimate things I need help with right now Would you be interested in 'sexual' stuff,” to which Doe responded with a “Yes.”

Read the entire federal indictment here.

Born in Casper, Wyoming, Shortey spent his childhood on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Grass Mountain, South Dakota before moving to Oklahoma. He graduated from Westmoore High School in 2000 and studied at Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma City. Shortey was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2010 and served his term until 2017.

He is scheduled to appear before the Oklahoma City federal court on Nov. 30.