Former Senator Pleads Guilty To Having Sex With Minor

A former North Dakota lawmaker has pleaded guilty to “traveling abroad with the intent to pay for sex with a minor.”

Former Republican state Senator Ray Holmberg, 80, signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on a charge stating.
“he traveled to Europe with the intent of paying for sex with a minor.”

According to the plea agreement, Holmberg’s second charge, “receipt and attempted receipt of child sexual abuse material,” will be dismissed by prosecutors.

Holmberg now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Former North Dakota Senator Ray Holmberg to plead guilty in sexual assault casehttps://t.co/d0m3hyUNZf pic.twitter.com/JL8FiNFIEP

— Qᴀɢɢ.ɴᴇᴡꜱ (@qaggnews) June 24, 2024

Former North Dakota Sen. Ray Holmberg to plead guilty to traveling to Prague to sexually abuse a child.
The former North Dakota senator from Grand Forks has signed a plea agreement.

The plea agreement that was filed Monday, June 24, said the Republican from Grand Forks will… pic.twitter.com/rNVyHWMJ2F

— Devil's Child 🚜🇺🇸 (@CJDanielsFarms) June 24, 2024

Per AP:

A former North Dakota lawmaker who was one of the most powerful members of the Legislature has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on a charge that he traveled to Europe with the intent of paying for sex with a minor.

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

Prosecutors will recommend the low end of the sentencing guideline range and move to dismiss Holmberg’s other charge, receipt and attempted receipt of child sexual abuse material, according to the plea agreement. He would have to register as a sex offender under the plea deal.

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 roughly three to four years, Holmberg attorney Mark Friese said. The court will schedule a plea hearing and order a presentence investigation report, he said. Sentencing is likely to happen sometime this fall, he said.

The party obsessed with pedophilia certainly has no shortage of them! Former North Dakota Senator, Republican Ray Holmberg, will plead guilty to federal charges for traveling to Europe to have sex with minors on taxpayer-funded flights.https://t.co/hHSZl3iYP9

— Patty S (@PSS_Postscript) June 25, 2024

Per Yahoo News:

Former North Dakota state Sen. Ray Holmberg has signed an agreement indicating he will plead guilty to a child sex tourism charge.

A plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court on Monday says Holmberg will voluntarily plead guilty to a charge of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity.

In the agreement, the longtime legislative leader acknowledges he repeatedly traveled between June 24, 2011, and Nov. 1, 2016, from Grand Forks to Prague, Czech Republic, for the purposes of engaging in commercial sex with adolescents under age 18, the document states.

Holmberg, a Republican from Grand Forks, resigned from the North Dakota Legislature in 2022. He served more than 45 years and held the powerful position of chairing the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors agree to dismiss a charge of receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography. Prosecutors also agree to seek a sentence on the low end of sentencing guidelines.