Ralph Shortey | |
---|---|
Member of the Oklahoma Senate from the 44th district | |
In office January 2011 –March 22, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Debbe Leftwich |
Succeeded by | Michael Brooks-Jimenez |
Personal details | |
Born | Ralph Allan Lee Shortey February 16,1982 Casper,Wyoming,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Jennifer (m. 2002;div. 2018) |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | Heartland Baptist Bible College |
Criminal status | In prison |
Conviction(s) | Child sex trafficking |
Criminal penalty | 15 years in prison, plus 10 years' supervised release |
Date apprehended | 2017 |
Imprisoned at | Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville |
Ralph Allan Lee Shortey (born February 16, 1982) is an American convicted sex offender and former politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2010, defeating several challengers in primary elections, re-elected in 2014 and served his term until 2017. During his tenure, he established a Republican consulting firm. Shortey was the state campaign chair for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. [1]
Shortey resigned in March 2017 after being charged with three felonies relating to prostitution from a male minor. [2] In September 2017, a federal grand jury in Oklahoma City charged Shortey on four counts, one of which he pleaded guilty to in November 2017, with an agreement that the others would be dropped. Jailed since his plea, Shortey was sentenced in September 2018 to 15 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.
According to his official Senate biography, Shortey was born in Casper, Wyoming, and is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. He spent a portion of his childhood on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Grass Mountain, South Dakota, before moving to Oklahoma. [2] His attorney said Shortey grew up in poverty, was shot by his brother at the age of 3, and was abused by stepfathers and his mother's boyfriends. [3] Shortey graduated from Westmoore High School in 2000, [4] and studied at Heartland Baptist Bible College. [2]
Shortey worked in the oil and gas industry. [2] He first became involved in politics circa 2002, becoming active in a number of Republican political campaigns. [5] In 2014, Shortey established a Republican political consulting firm, the Precision Strategy Group, that reported earning nearly $300,000 "for consulting, direct mail and polling services." [6] The Associated Press noted that court records showed that Shortey "had some past financial difficulties dating back to before his time in the Senate, including an eviction, debt-related lawsuits and foreclosure proceedings." [6] At least as late as 2016, Shortey was a co-owner of a coffee shop in south Oklahoma City. [7]
Shortey was first elected to the Senate in 2010. [6] He was an advocate of family values during his campaigns. [8] Senate District 44 was an open seat (incumbent Senator Debbe Leftwich, who was embroiled in a misconduct probe, decided not to run for reelection). [9] In the initial Republican primary in July 2010, Shortey came in second place in a four-candidate field, with just under 38% of the vote. [10] In the Republican primary runoff the following month, however, Shortey won the nomination, defeating James Davenport, a martial arts studio co-owner and ex-chief of staff to a county commissioner; Shortey received 58% of the vote to Davenport's 42%. [9] In the November general election, Shortey defeated Democratic nominee Randy Rose, a retired Oklahoma City firefighter. [9] [11] Shortey won 57% of the vote to Rose's 43%. [12]
Shortey was reelected in 2014, defeating his Democratic opponent Michael Brooks-Jimenez, an attorney. [13] Shortey received 52% of the vote, compared to Brooks-Jimenez's 42%. [14] In 2017, following Shortey's resignation, Brooks ran again in the special election to fill the vacancy, and won with 54% of the vote. [15]
On March 16, 2017, Shortey was charged by the Cleveland County District Attorney with three felony counts—soliciting a minor for prostitution, prostitution within 1,000 feet (300 m) of a church, and transporting someone for prostitution—after he was caught with a 17-year-old boy in a motel room in Moore, Oklahoma. [16] [17] [18] Police reported a "strong odor of raw marijuana" emanating from the room. [18] According to an affidavit, the duo told police they had brought marijuana with them, which Shortey said they were smoking when police arrived. [19] Video from the arrest released by Moore police show Shortey in the motel room wearing a T-shirt that reads, "now go make me a sandwich." Above a cartoon drawing of a sandwich, it cites Ephesians 5:22, a Bible verse that calls on women to obey their husbands. [20] Police said that they discovered sexually explicit text messages between the duo in which Shortey called the teen "baby boy" and offered him cash in exchange for sexual acts. [21] Shortey turned himself in the same day and was released on a $100,000 bond. [19] The FBI and U.S. Secret Service in Oklahoma City both confirmed that they had joined the investigation into Shortey, and the FBI conducted a search of his home. [22] The age of consent in Oklahoma is 16, but, under state law, engaging in prostitution with anyone under 18 is illegal. [23]
After the reports emerged, but before charges were filed, the Oklahoma Senate unanimously voted to strip Shortey of privileges including his parking space, office, and positions on committees, although he retained his seat, ability to vote, and salary. [24] A number of Republican and Democratic Oklahoma officials called upon Shortey to step down, including Governor Mary Fallin. [8] Shortey resigned from office on March 22, 2017—six days after being charged. [5]
On September 5, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Shortey on four federal sex trafficking and child pornography charges, involving both the March incident and videos that Shortey was accused of distributing from his cell phone in 2012 and 2013. Shortey pleaded not guilty to these charges. [25] After the federal charges were announced, the Cleveland County district attorney dropped the state charges. [26] A federal jury trial had been scheduled for December 2017. On November 19, 2017, Shortey reached an agreement to plead guilty on November 30 to one count of child sex trafficking; the prosecutor agreed to have the child pornography counts removed. [27] Shortey was jailed immediately after pleading guilty on November 30 and faced a sentence of at least 10 years in prison, with Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti to decide in 2018. [27] [28] In early December 2017, police released their video of Shortey's arrest at a motel where he was found with a 17-year-old male. [29] In June 2018, prosecutors revealed in a sentencing memorandum that Shortey had sex twice with the victim in the year before they were found together at the hotel. Prosecutors also informed the judge that they would seek full restitution from Shortey for the victim's losses, including the cost of any care. Shortey's lawyer said it would not yet be appropriate to comment. [7]
Jailed since his guilty plea, Shortey was sentenced in Oklahoma City federal court on September 17, 2018, to a total of 15 years in prison, and 10 years of supervised release. [30] [31] In sentencing testimony, Shortey apologized to his family, fellow Christians, and his constituents. [32] His attorney, who said the sentence was fair, requested that Shortey serve it at a facility in Texas with a sex offender rehab program; the Bureau of Prisons placed Shortey at the Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville in Seagoville, Texas. [3] [32] [33] In February 2019, U.S. District Judge DeGiusti imposed a restitution fine on Shortey of $125,850, about half of the maximum amount. [34] [35]
Shortey was a staunch conservative in the Republican-dominated legislature. [6] The Oklahoman noted that Shortey filed bills that "often drew national attention and, at times, national ridicule." [5]
The Associated Press reported that as a state senator, Shortey "routinely voted with his Republican colleagues on bills targeting gay and transgender people", including a measure passed in 2017 to allow business owners to discriminate against LGBT people. [21] Shortey was also known for his firm opposition to illegal immigration and to gun control. [36] He maintained that state legislators had a constitutional right to carry guns in the Oklahoma State Capitol. [6] Duane Chapman ("Dog the Bounty Hunter") and his wife Beth supported legislation introduced by Shortey to regulate the bounty-hunting industry. [6]
Shortey took a "hard-line stance against abortion" [8] and in 2012 proposed legislation to outlaw the use of aborted fetuses in food; the widely ridiculed bill did not receive a committee hearing. [21] In response, Shortey explained his intent was to deter the use of human embryonic stem cells in research by private companies. [37]
In February 2017, Shortey came under public criticism for trying to retighten state drug laws which Oklahoma voters had voted to loosen in November 2016. Arguing that voters had not considered the consequences of their vote, Shortey introduced a bill to increase the penalties for drug possession within 1,000 feet (300 m) feet of a church or a school, which Oklahoma voters had voted to classify as a misdemeanor instead of a felony. [21] [38]
Although Shortey's district was close to the Capitol, he frequently missed votes; the Associated Press noted that according to an online bill tracking service, Shortey missed nearly half of the votes taken in the Senate. [6]
According to his senate biography, Shortey married his "high school sweetheart" Jennifer. [2] [36] They have four children. [5] [39] When the couple divorced in 2018 after 16 years, his wife changed her last name. [40]
Shortey was known in the Senate for his imposing size, at 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm) tall and weighing 315 pounds (143 kg). [5]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | James Davenport | 1,239 | 49.94 | |
Republican | Ralph Shortey | 941 | 37.93 | |
Republican | Charles L. Peters | 164 | 6.61 | |
Republican | Bing Wines | 137 | 5.52 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Ralph Shortey | 1,306 | 58.30 | |
Republican | James Davenport | 934 | 41.70 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Ralph Shortey | 6,060 | 57.34 | |
Democratic | Randy Rose | 4,509 | 42.66 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Ralph Shortey | 5,418 | 51.7 | |
Democratic | Michael Brooks-Jimenez | 4,384 | 41.8 | |
Independent | Constance Fawcett | 680 | 6.5 |
Mary Fallin is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She is the first and so far only woman to be elected governor of Oklahoma. She was the first woman to represent Oklahoma in Congress since Alice Mary Robertson left office in 1923.
Mike Morgan is an American politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A Democrat, Morgan served as the President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate during the 51st Oklahoma Legislature.
Michael Folmer is an American politician and convicted sex offender. He represented the 48th district in the Pennsylvania State Senate, which includes all of Lebanon County and portions of Dauphin and York Counties, from 2007 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Todd Lamb is an American politician and university administrator who is the current president of the University of Central Oklahoma. He previously served as the 16th lieutenant governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019 and as a member of the Oklahoma state senate from 2005 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Timothy D. DeGiusti is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma as well as the judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Randy Terrill is an American politician. A Republican, he is a former member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from Moore, Oklahoma.
James Paul Lankford is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, Lankford has represented Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate since 2015. Before his Senate service, he represented Oklahoma's 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015.
David Holt is an American attorney, businessman and Republican politician who is the 38th mayor of Oklahoma City and dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law. He is a member of the Osage Nation. He served in the Oklahoma Senate from 2010 to 2018, eventually as majority whip.
Rick Brinkley, is a minister and former Republican politician from Oklahoma. He was a member of the Oklahoma Senate. He resigned his seat effective August 20, 2015 after he pled guilty to federal charges related to the alleged embezzlement of more than $1.8 million from his former employer.
Backpage was a classified advertising website founded in 2004 by the alternative newspaper chain New Times Inc./New Times Media as a rival to Craigslist.
Nathan Ryan Dahm is an American politician who has served as the Oklahoma State Senator for the 33rd district since 2012. Prior to holding office, Dahm worked as a missionary in Romania and was a Tea Party activist in Tulsa County. Dahm has thrice unsuccessfully sought federal office: first running for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district in 2010, then running for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district again in 2018, and then running for retiring senator Jim Inhofe's United States Senate seat in 2022. He is term-limited in 2024.
David Benjamin Hooten is an American musician and politician who served as the County Clerk for Oklahoma County, Oklahoma from 2016 to 2022.
Timothy Lee Nolan is an American registered sex offender and former state district court judge, a former leader in the Republican Party and a former chairman of Donald Trump's presidential campaign in Campbell County, Kentucky. On February 9, 2018, he pleaded guilty to 19 counts of child sex trafficking and human trafficking; on February 11, 2018, he was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison.
Dan Kirby is a Republican politician from Oklahoma who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives representing the 75th district from 2009 to 2017 and on the Eufaula City Council from 2021 to 2023. He resigned from the Oklahoma House after sexual harassment allegations and from the Eufaula city government after his indictment for involuntary manslaughter.
Kyle Loveless is a former Republican politician from Oklahoma's 45th district including parts of Oklahoma City. He was elected to the Senate in 2012, replacing Steve Russell, and was reelected in 2016; Loveless ran unopposed in both races.
Michael Andrew Brooks-Jimenez is an American lawyer and Democratic member of the Oklahoma Senate. He was elected in a 2017 special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Ralph Shortey. He represents the 44th district, which covers parts of southern Oklahoma City.
The Fifty-sixth Oklahoma Legislature was the most recent meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from January 3, 2017, to January 3, 2019, during the final two years of the second administration of Governor Mary Fallin. The November 2016 elections maintained Republican control of both the House and Senate.
Kim David is an American politician and businesswoman who has served as a member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission since 2023. She previously served in the Oklahoma Senate representing the 18th district from 2010 to 2022 and as the Oklahoma Senate Majority Floor Leader from January 2019 to October 2021. In 2022 she was term limited from the Oklahoma Legislature.
Ryan Martinez is an American politician who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 39th District from 2016 through his resignation in 2023. An influential member during his tenure, Martinez resigned after charges for driving under the influence generated a political scandal and a lawsuit seeking his removal from office.
Gentner Frederick Drummond is an American attorney, rancher, banker, and politician from Oklahoma. Drummond is a member of the Republican Party and the current Attorney General of Oklahoma. He flew in the Gulf War air campaign during the Persian Gulf War, gaining national coverage for being one of the first American pilots interviewed during the war. He resides in the McBirney Mansion and is a member of the Oklahoma Drummond ranching family.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)The age of consent in Oklahoma is 16, but Oklahoma's prostitution statute applies to any person under 18 years old.
The Cleveland County charges were dismissed this week after a federal grand jury indicted Shortey on two counts of transporting child pornography, one count of producing child pornography and one count of child sex trafficking.