FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A prominent former lawmaker who was one of the most influential members of the North Dakota Legislature pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to traveling to Europe with the intent of paying minors for sex.
Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, was indicted in October 2023 on charges of traveling with the intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity and receiving and attempting to receive child sexual abuse material. A Republican, he served as a North Dakota state senator for more than 45 years before retiring in 2022. He initially pleaded not guilty and his trial was scheduled for September.
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.
The travelling charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifelong probation.
In his plea agreement, Holmberg admitted that from approximately June 2011 to November 2016, he “repeatedly traveled 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.”
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 stating Holmberg did not meet those conditions.
She wrote that he was verbally reprimanded and reminded of his pre-bail conditions after leaving his home once and visiting an adult goods store without permission, that he “continuously” accessed the internet for unauthorized reasons, and failed to allow updates and maintenance on his mobile device monitoring software.
In May, Holmberg admitted to drinking alcohol after testing positive. Later that month, he was ordered to remove an unauthorized iPad from his home, and a judge added conditions limiting his access to electronic devices.
Since then, he continued to access the internet for unauthorized reasons, officers wrote.
“Due to the statutory detention requirements, the defendant is not considered a suitable candidate for self-surrender,” U.S. Pretrial Services Director Christine Argall wrote.
Holmberg's lawyer, Mark Freese, declined a request for an interview. Holmberg has not been arrested.
Former U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon said the report was a routine filing, but the alleged violations were significant given the nature of Holmberg's case.
“I'm particularly troubled by the idea that he was accessing the internet on an unmonitored, unauthorized device. It's really concerning when you have someone facing the types of charges that he faced,” Purdon said. He added that it's not unusual that Holmberg wasn't arrested.
Holmberg served as a state senator from 1976 until mid-2022. He initially announced he would not seek reelection, but resigned after a Fargo-Moorhead Forum report revealed he had exchanged dozens of text messages with a man in prison seeking child sexual abuse materials.
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.
Pardon said the factors that contributed to 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.
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