Senator booked on sexual battery charge, released

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – An Oklahoma state senator accused of grabbing his Uber driver’s head and kissing her neck while she was driving him to a bar has been booked into the Oklahoma County jail.

Online jail records show 40-year-old Republican state Sen. Bryce Marlatt was booked Tuesday morning on one felony count of sexual battery. He was released on a $5,000 bond.

A married father of four from the western Oklahoma city of Woodward, Marlatt was charged after an Uber driver told police he groped her after she picked him up from an Oklahoma City restaurant June 26.

Marlatt has previously said he was shocked by the allegations, but neither he nor his attorney immediately responded to telephone messages Tuesday seeking comment.

If convicted, Marlatt faces up to 10 years in prison.