BY: AMY DALRYMPLE (North Dakota Monitor)
A former North Dakota legislative leader who is scheduled to plead guilty Thursday to a child sexual abuse charge has violated conditions of his release, court records say.
Ray Holmberg accessed the internet for reasons not approved under his pretrial monitoring and frequented the adult novelty store Romantix, according to a report submitted Friday by a U.S. Pretrial Services officer.
Holmberg, 80, has signed a plea agreement indicating he will plead guilty in U.S. District Court to a charge of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity.
In the agreement, Holmberg 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, served in the North Dakota Legislature more than 45 years and held the powerful position of chairing the Senate Appropriations Committee. He resigned in 2022.
Holmberg was indicted on child sex tourism and receipt of child pornography charges on Oct. 26, 2023. He was released from custody Oct. 30, 2023, but required to follow conditions set by the court, which include travel restrictions, location monitoring, internet restrictions and no contact with victims or witnesses. The conditions were updated in May to prohibit Holmberg from using unapproved electronic devices, records show.
He has received verbal reprimands each time he visited Romantix and was reminded about his conditions of release, court records show.
On May 8, Holmberg tested positive for alcohol, which is prohibited under the conditions.
On May 20, Holmberg was instructed to remove an unapproved iPad from his home. On June 4, Pretrial Services observed content on a smart TV that Holmberg did not have permission to access. Since that time, Holmberg has continued to access the internet for unapproved reasons, the report shows.
Court records do not indicate whether prosecutors may argue for Holmberg to be detained after he pleads guilty on Thursday. The U.S. Pretrial Services officer recommends that Holmberg is “not a candidate for self-surrender.”
Holmberg faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence on the low end of federal sentencing guidelines. Defense attorney Mark Friese has said the guidelines provide a range of between three and four years in prison, which may increase or decrease depending on factors determined by the court.
Prosecutors also agree in the plea agreement to dismiss the child pornography charge.
The plea hearing is 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Fargo.
