Sentencing date set for former state senator

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A sentencing date has been set for a former Oklahoma state senator who pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking.

Court documents show 36-year-old Ralph Shortey will be sentenced Sept. 5 in federal court in Oklahoma City.

Shortey pleaded guilty in November in exchange for prosecutors dismissing three similar charges. He faces 10 years to life in prison.

Shortey was arrested in March 2017 at a motel in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore where he was found with a 17-year-old boy. Police have said they were acting on a tip from the teenager’s father when they went to the motel.

Shortey, a Republican, was twice elected to the district that covers south Oklahoma City and parts of two suburbs. He resigned shortly after his arrest.