Plea hearing set in former state lawmaker child sex abuse case

Ray Holmberg (Photo provided by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly)

A plea hearing for former North Dakota state Sen. Ray Holmberg will take place at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 8 in Fargo, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland ordered Monday.

Holmberg last week signed an agreement indicating he plans  to plead guilty to a charge of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity.

In the agreement, Holmberg admits to repeatedly traveling from North Dakota to the Czech Republic between June 24, 2011, and Nov. 1, 2016, for the purpose of having sex with adolescents under age 18.

A federal indictment of Holmberg also charged him with receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography. Under the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to dismiss that charge. Prosecutors also indicated in the agreement they will seek a sentence on the low end of federal sentencing guidelines.

Defense attorney Mark Friese previously told the North Dakota Monitor that the sentencing guidelines advise a sentence of around three to four years in prison for the charge. The charge has a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release.

The case was previously scheduled for a five-day trial in September.

The 80-year old Republican from Grand Forks resigned from the North Dakota Legislature in 2022. He served in the statehouse for more than 45 years and held the powerful position of chairing the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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