Former North Dakota Lawmaker Will Plead Guilty to Traveling to Pay for Sex with Minor

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A former North Dakota lawmaker who was one of the Legislature’s most powerful members has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on charges that he traveled to Europe with the intent to pay for sex with a minor.

Former Republican state Sen. Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, signed the plea agreement last week. It was filed on Monday. He agreed to plead guilty to traveling with the intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

Prosecutors will recommend the lower end of the sentencing guideline and move to dismiss Holmberg’s other charge, receiving and attempting to receive child sexual abuse material, according to the plea agreement. He would have to register as a sex offender under the plea agreement.

The maximum penalties are 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release, according to the document. Prosecutors will likely recommend a prison sentence of about three to four years, said Holmberg’s attorney, Mark Friese. The court will schedule a plea hearing and order a presentence investigation report, he said. Sentencing will likely come this fall, he said.

A travel violation does not carry a mandatory penalty; the receipt charge has a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, Friese said.

Prosecutors alleged that Holmberg repeatedly traveled to Prague, Czech Republic, with the intention of paying for sex with a minor, between June 2011 and November 2016. The indictment against Holmberg was unsealed in October 2023.

Holmberg has served in the Legislature since 1976 until mid-2022. He first announced his intention not to seek re-election, but he resigned following Fargo-Moorhead Forum reporting that he exchanged dozens of text messages with a man in prison for child sexual abuse material.

His trial was scheduled to begin in September in Fargo. He initially pleaded not guilty.

For many years, Holmberg chaired the influential Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes budgets. He also chaired the Legislative Management panel, which handles the Legislature’s business between biennial sessions. This work allowed him to approve his own travel.

Records obtained by the Associated Press showed that Holmberg I took dozens of trips in the US and other countries since 1999. Destinations included cities in more than 30 states, as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and Norway.

Earlier this year, the North Dakota School Boards Association returned about $142,000 to the state and ended his role in the Global Bridges teacher exchange program months after releasing travel records following Holmberg’s indictment that showed he traveled to Prague and other European cities in 2011, 2018 and 2019, using state funds. It is unclear whether the misconduct alleged by authorities occurred during any of these trips.