FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A powerful former North Dakota lawmaker pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to traveling to Europe with the intent of paying minors for sex.
Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, admitted in court that he paid young male masseuses during multiple visits to the Czech Republic and had sexual contact with some of them, but said he did not know their exact ages.
Holmberg was indicted in October 2023 on charges of traveling for the purpose of illicit sexual activity and receiving and attempting to receive child sexual abuse material. A Republican, he served as a North Dakota senator for more than 45 years before retiring in 2022.
Under the plea agreement Holmberg signed in June, he agreed to plead guilty to the former charge and prosecutors will dismiss the latter charge and recommend a sentence at the low end of the guidelines range.
Judge Daniel Hovland granted Holmberg's motion and allowed him to be released on bond pending his sentencing. The disgraced former lawmaker, dressed in a black suit, declined to comment after the hearing.
The travel charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and life on probation.
In his plea agreement, Holmberg admitted to “repeatedly traveling from Grand Forks, North Dakota to Prague, Czech Republic for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts with minors under the age of 18.”
In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Pool detailed the charges against Holmberg, including emails with others about encounters in Prague. Pool said Holmberg visited Prague 14 times between 2011 and 2021, frequenting a villa that one travel companion described as a brothel with teenage male masseuses. Another travel companion told investigators that she paid for her stay at the villa because Holmberg didn't want his name on a directory, Pool said.
Poole said the investigation began around 2020-21 when child exploitation investigators were investigating a landscaping contractor known to Holmberg named Nicholas James Morgan Desrosiers. Investigators interviewed an 18-year-old male who was a former employee of Morgan Desrosiers, who said he had sex with Holmberg in exchange for landscaping contracts for a condominium association, and that he witnessed Morgan Desrosiers and Holmberg viewing child sexual abuse material at Holmberg's home.
Holmberg initially announced she would not seek reelection in 2022, but later resigned from her Senate seat after the Fargo-Moorhead Forum published dozens of text messages between her and then-incarcerated Morgan Desrosiers, who is currently serving a 40-year sentence.
The judge asked Holmberg why he “got caught up in this lifestyle,” how old the youngest person he paid for sex was, and whether he had traveled to other countries for the same purpose.
“I wouldn't say it just happened … by chance,” said Holmberg, a former high school counselor. “It all happened after I retired.” He retired in 2002. He said he loved opera and castles and had been to Prague several times before 2011. He usually traveled alone.
Holmberg said he learned of the villa, likely because he saw it on the Internet, but he didn't know the massage therapist's age or how many times he met her. He said he had sexual contact with “several people.” He noted that the age of consent in the Czech Republic is lower than in the United States, and said he couldn't recall traveling to other countries for the same purpose.
“I've been to a lot of countries, but the only one that really made an impression on me was the Czech Republic,” he said.
Holmberg was subject to a number of conditions for his release, including travel restrictions, monitoring of his location and surrendering his passport.
On Friday, a pretrial services officer filed a report, noting Holmberg did not meet certain conditions, including unauthorized internet access, visiting an adult general store and testing positive for alcohol once. Holmberg was not arrested.
The judge said he would respect an agreement between Holmberg's lawyers and prosecutors to keep his client free before sentencing. His lawyer, Mark Freese, cited Holmberg's various health issues and upcoming medical appointments. The judge told Holmberg he had concerns about his client's compliance.
Holmberg was a longtime chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes the budget, and also served as chairman of the Legislative Management Committee, which handles a variety of business during each biennial session, roles that allowed him to approve his own travel.
Records obtained by The Associated Press show Holmberg has made dozens of trips within the United States and abroad since 1999, including to cities in more than 30 states as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and Norway.
Earlier this year, the North Dakota School Boards Association released travel records showing Holmberg used state funds for trips to Prague and other European cities in 2011, 2018 and 2019, and ended his role in the Global Bridges teacher exchange program.
It's unclear whether the wrongdoing authorities allege occurred during those trips.
Former U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon said the factors in Holmberg's case make it perhaps the most significant political scandal in North Dakota history.
“You have a very high profile politician, literally the worst allegations imaginable – child sexual abuse and rape – and then there's the idea that the flights were paid for with taxpayer money,” he said.
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said in a statement that Holmberg's guilty plea “marks an important milestone in the fight against child sex trafficking in North Dakota. Former state senator Ray Holmberg has admitted to a heinous crime and been convicted of facilitating the sexual exploitation of children both domestically and around the world.”
