Ex-Oklahoma state senator sentenced to 15 years for child sex trafficking

A former Oklahoma state senator was sentenced Monday to 15 years in federal prison for child sex-trafficking, according to media reports.

Ralph Shortey, a Republican who served in the Oklahoma state Senate from 2011 to 2017, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGiusti, NBC News reported. Shortey will also face 10 years of supervised probation when he is released from prison, per NBC News.

{mosads}Shortey pleaded guilty in November to a child sex-trafficking charge after being accused of offering to pay a 17-year-old boy for “‘sexual’ stuff” earlier in 2017.

Police said the boy told Shortey that he “needed money for spring break” while the two were having a conversation on a messaging app. 

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

Shortey resigned from office in 2017 after he was found in a motel room with the 17-year-old boy.