A former two-term Oklahoma state senator who is noted for having served as one of Donald Trump's campaign coordinators during the 2016 election, has agreed to plead guilty to a sex trafficking charge involving a minor.
Ralph Shortey, 35, was a young rising star in the Republican Party who was elected twice on a platform that preached service to family values. But Shortley's six-year run in government came to an untimely end when he was forced to resign over charges stemming from a March hotel room bust that found him having paid for sex from a 17-year-old boy.
An investigation into circumstances surrounding the arrest reportedly produced text messages documenting Shortey's solicitation of the underage prostitute. Investigators would also find material on his phone that is deemed illegal under child porn laws.
Shortey pleaded not-guilty when he was initially indicted on four federal sex trafficking and child pornography charges, back in September. As part of Shortey's plea deal, the disgraced senator will have the two counts of child pornography and the one count of production of child pornography that he incurred, dropped.
He is expected to enter his plea of guilty for transporting a minor for prostitution and engaging in prostitution within 1,000 feet of a church on November 20.
Even with the dropped child porn charges, Shortey still faces the possibility of receiving a life sentence when he stands in front of a judge in 2018.
