Patrick Mcmahon
Police have released bodycam video from the March night that ended in the arrest of 35-year-old former Oklahoma State Sen. Ralph Shortey, who resigned in disgrace this year after he was caught in a hotel room in Moore, Okla., with marijuana and a 17-year-old boy.
Videos by Rare
Shortey told police that he and the boy were “just hanging out, talking about life and stuff” in the hotel room when police conducted a wellness check on March 9, according to KFOR.
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Video footage shows that Shortey answered the door wearing a shirt referencing Ephesians 5:22 (“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord”) with a picture of a sandwich and the phrase “Now go make me a sandwich” printed on it. Ralph Shortey is a married father of four children, according to CBS News.
Police said they found condoms and lotion in the room and that they smelled marijuana.
The Republican lawmaker — a county chair for the Trump campaign in 2016 — resigned from his seat in the Oklahoma State Senate in March shortly after his arrest, saying he wanted the body to “proceed without distraction for the remainder of the legislative session.”
Shortey pleaded guilty last month to federal child sex trafficking charges. While prosecutors had brought child pornography and child prostitution charges against him as well, those were dropped as part of Shortey’s plea agreement. His attorney said that Shortey intended to “take full responsibility for his actions and move past this embarrassing and difficult time.”
According to police, a search of a tablet device found on the 17-year-old — who has not been named due to his age — revealed “sexually explicit” messages and other content, including messages from Shortey with offers of cash in exchange for “sexual stuff.”
Shortey hasn’t been sentenced yet, but he could see between 10 years and life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the the federal child sex trafficking charge.
