A Republican state senator from Woodward has been charged with sexual battery over an incident with an Uber driver in June.
State Sen. Bryce Marlatt was charged with a felony in Oklahoma County District Court Wednesday, following an investigation by the Oklahoma City Police Department. Maximum punishment for sexual battery is ten years in prison.
The Oklahoman reports the Uber driver told police Marlatt "made advances on her during transit." She also claims he grabbed her forcefully and kissed her on the neck while she was driving in Oklahoma City on June 26.
This is not Marlatt's first run-in with the law. He was found asleep and smelling of alcohol in his parked pickup on a road in Woodward County in December 2014. He pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor and was sentenced to probation.
Marlatt was first elected to the Senate in 2008, and was reelected in 2012 and 2016.