Oklahoma State Senator Surrenders To Authorities As He Faces Child Prostitution Charges

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2017 file photo, Oklahoma state Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, speaks during a Senate committee meeting in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Senate has voted to punish Shortey, who police say ... FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2017 file photo, Oklahoma state Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, speaks during a Senate committee meeting in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Senate has voted to punish Shortey, who police say was found with a teenage boy in a motel room. Police officials in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore are still investigating the circumstances surrounding an incident last week involving Sen. Shortey and a teenager. No charges have been filed. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) MORE LESS

A Republican state senator facing child prostitution charges involving a 17-year-old boy has surrendered to authorities in Cleveland County.

State Sen. Ralph Shortey was booked Thursday into the Cleveland County Detention Center. His bond was set at $100,000.

He told reporters he had no comment on the charges but would release a statement later.

Shortey faces charges of engaging in child prostitution, transporting a minor for prostitution and engaging in prostitution within 1,000 feet of church. Police in Moore, acting on a tip from the teen’s father, found Shortey and the teen in a hotel room last week.

Oklahoma’s age of consent is 16, but its child prostitution statute applies to anyone under the age of 18.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. Dead girl or a live boy, gets those Family Values types every time.

  2. I assume the next shoe to drop will be the revelation that he is also an evangelical pastor.

    And why, by the way, is engaging in prostitution within a 1000 feet of a church an aggravating offense?

  3. Avatar for timr timr says:

    Because, RELIGION

  4. Competition?

  5. As unsavory as this guy may be – he is a Republican after all – I wonder if he isn’t getting railroaded a bit here on account of being a godless homosexual in Oklahoma. Since when are 17-year-old gay hustlers in close enough contact with their parents for a father to be able to tip off the police about their whereabouts? Smells like a setup to me.

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