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Former ND Sen. Ray Holmberg sentenced to 10 years in prison for sex crime • North Dakota Monitor [1]
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Date: 2025-03-26
FARGO – A former North Dakota lawmaker was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Ray Holmberg, 81, was a state senator for 45 years, and received a sentence that is longer than federal sentencing guidelines.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland characterized Holmberg’s conduct as “egregious and despicable” and said he didn’t think the guideline sentence of more than three years was adequate.
“From my perspective, this was not an isolated case and this is not a victimless crime,” Hovland said. “It displays a pattern of very vile, sickening criminal behavior.”
Holmberg will also have to register as a sex offender.
His attorney had advocated for no prison time, arguing a sentence of time already served in jail and home confinement were more appropriate given Holmberg’s health and age.
Prosecutors allege Holmberg traveled to Prague in the Czech Republic 14 times between 2011 and 2021 to pay for sex with boys. North Dakota’s acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl argued that Holmberg should serve prison time, describing what she characterized as his history of leveraging his power to exploit boys and young men.
Defense attorney Mark Friese argued prosecutors had not presented evidence that underage boys were involved or that Holmberg ever assaulted a minor.
In exchange for Holmberg’s guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a charge of receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography.
Holmberg was linked to the investigation of Nicholas Morgan-Derosier, a Grand Forks man who was sentenced in May to 40 years on child pornography charges.
Holmberg, who held the powerful positions of Senate Appropriations Committee chair and head of Legislative Management, resigned in 2022. He was indicted on federal charges in October 2023.
Holmberg has been held in jail in Elk River, Minnesota, since November.
This story will be updated.
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