(RightWing.org) – A former state lawmaker resigned from office in 2022 under a cloud of controversy and has now entered into a plea agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on one account of his indictment. Former North Dakota Senator Ray Holmberg (R-Grand Forks), 80, is admitting to a crime that impacts some of the most vulnerable people in the world — and he traveled halfway around the planet in pursuit of them.
Sordid Behavior
The first count of the indictment filed against Holmberg, and the one that is part of his agreement with the DOJ, accused him of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(b) by traveling from his home state to Prague, Czech Republic “for the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct… with a person under 18 years of age.” The second charge against him alleged that he ran afoul of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252A(a)(2)(A) and 2252A(b)(1), the receipt of child pornography.
Holmberg’s plea agreement is with the United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota only, meaning that if it is determined he should be charged for crimes in another federal district, state, or local jurisdiction, it is not covered by this. While the government has agreed to dismiss count two from the indictment, the longtime politician relinquishes any right to appeal his case and acknowledges that the judge who will pronounce the sentence is free to ignore any recommendations made by the DOJ and can impose the maximum of 30 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
When Holmberg resigned from his position in 2022, it appears to have been because of fallout from an exclusive article by the Forum of Fargo, which told of 72 text messages he exchanged in August 2021 with a man who was in jail facing numerous charges of sexually abusing children and trafficking in child pornography. The news site obtained a transcript of a court hearing for the prisoner who testified that he had been in contact with “a 77-year-old man from Grand Forks,” to provide a 19 or 20-year-old man for a massage session.
The Forum reporter claims they had confronted the ex-senator about the massage claim and noted that Holmberg denied any knowledge of it; when the journalists asked about the other text messages the politician claimed that they were mysteriously “gone.” This is one of a series of articles by the outlet that clearly show they are strong believers in the old adage of “where there is smoke there is fire.”
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