A retired Republican senator from North Dakota in charge of travelling to Prague with the intention of paying for sex with a minor, used state money to pay for at least three trips to that city and to other destinations in Europe.
Stands Senator Ray Holmberg, 79, used to be arrested and released Monday after pleading not guilty to the charges in U.S. District Court in Fargo. His trial is scheduled for December 5.
Prosecutors said in a statement that Holmberg, who served in the House for 45 years, repeatedly traveled to Prague, Czech Republic, from June 2011 to November 2016 with the aim of paying for sex with a person under the age of 18.
Travel data from the North Dakota School Boards Association shows that former Sen. Ray Holmberg used public funding in 2011, 2018 and 2019 for trips to Prague in the Czech Republic and to other cities including Amsterdam and Berlin.
The trips were organized through the Germany-based Global Bridges teacher exchange program, which received funding from the North Dakota Legislature.
Holmberg traveled twice with teachers and also on independent trips where he was invited to participate, such as for a forum, annual meeting or symposium, Jon Martinson said
It is unclear whether the alleged behavior occurred during the government-funded trips. But according to the indictment, Holmberg traveled to Prague “from on or about June 24, 2011 to on or about November 1, 2016… for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct.”
One of the travel details of the financed trips mentions a departure date of June 24, 2011 to Prague and other cities.
The North Dakota Legislature gave money to the state Department of Public Instruction, which essentially passed it on to Global Bridges to pay for travel for teachers and lawmakers.
State Rep. Bob Martinson said he picked the lawmakers going on the trip, usually a combination of men and women, House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans for “a balanced group of people who were interested in learning and would all get along.” it would not be a political journey.”
Holmberg “had a really good relationship with Global Bridges, and they liked him, and they asked him to go to those meetings. They wanted to get him involved,” Martinson said.
His brother, former association executive director Jon Martinson, served as project director and participated in selecting teachers for the trips.
Photos on Holmberg’s Facebook page show him traveling around Europe over the past decade, including Slovakia and France.
Holmberg traveled twice with teachers and also on independent trips where he was invited to participate, such as for a forum, annual meeting or symposium, Jon Martinson said.
Senator Ray Holmberg, 79, was arrested and released Monday after pleading not guilty to the charges in U.S. District Court in Fargo
Prosecutors said in a statement that Holmberg, who served 45 years in the chamber, repeatedly traveled to Prague, Czech Republic, from June 2011 to November 2016 with the aim of paying for sex with a person under 18.
He said he did not know how many trips Holmberg made through the program.
The trips are beneficial to lawmakers because of the knowledge they gain on topics such as energy and international relations, Jon Martinson said.
Bob and Jon Martinson said they did not know what Holmberg is accused of in Prague.
“My lawyer says I shouldn’t talk to anyone because I’m dealing with this criminal stuff, so I’m following my lawyer’s advice,” Holmberg told reporters on Wednesday.
Bob Martinson called the allegations in the complaint “terribly sad.” Holmberg has been a friend for more than 40 years, he said.
The indictment, which also alleges that Holmberg used aliases, says that from November 2012 to March 2013, he received and attempted to receive images depicting child sexual abuse. To obtain images, Holmberg used the alias Sean Evans, reports Fargo-Moorhead Forum.
Holmberg served nearly five decades until his resignation last year after The Forum revealed he exchanged dozens of text messages with a person jailed on charges of child sexual abuse images.
Holmberg is not married. A 1996 profile about him from The Bismarck Tribune calls him a “single parent of two.”
Travel data from the North Dakota School Boards Association shows that former Senator Ray Holmberg used public funding in 2011, 2018 and 2019 for trips to Prague in the Czech Republic and to other cities including Amsterdam and Berlin
The charges come after Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier pleaded guilty in federal court last month to six counts of possessing images depicting child sexual abuse and one count of receiving and distributing such images.
He chaired the powerful Senate committee that writes budgets.
Holmberg announced in March 2022 that he would not seek re-election. He cited stress and “a weakened ability to focus on the matters at hand and effectively recall events” before ultimately resigning.
Police searched his home in Grand Forks in November 2021, seizing video discs and other items.
The charges come after Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier pleaded guilty in federal court last month to six counts of possession of images depicting child sexual abuse and one count of receiving and distributing such images.
According to The Forum’s reporting, Morgan-Derosier was the person who texted Holmberg from prison.
State Rep. Bob Martinson said he picked the lawmakers who went on the trip, usually a combination of men and women
Morgan-Derosier will be sentenced in January. A spokesperson for the two federal public defenders representing Morgan-Derosier did not immediately respond to a telephone message about his case.
He took dozens of state-funded trips in the U.S. and abroad over the past decade, according to regulatory travel data.
Holmberg resigned last year after Het Forum reported on his dozens of text messages that he had exchanged with a man who was in prison at the time on charges of child sexual abuse images.
A state panel voted unanimously Thursday to suspend Holmberg’s lifetime teaching license, with the intention of immediately revoking it if he pleads guilty or is convicted of any charge based on the underlying facts of the case, according to the motion in the case minutes of the meeting.
Holmberg, who is retired, had a career with Grand Forks Public Schools from 1967 to 2002, including years as a teacher, child search coordinator and counselor.