Ray Holmberg

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Ray Holmberg
A monochrome portrait photo of a man with short grey hair, wearing a suit coat and tie; he is looking and looking straight into the camera with a happy expression.
Holmberg in 2021
BornDec. 10, 1944 (1944-12-10) (age 80)
Other names
  • Sean Evan
  • Sean Evans
Occupations
Political partyRepublican
Criminal chargesChild sex tourism
Criminal statusImprisoned,
pending sentencing
Spouse
Kerry Louise Hackett
​
​
(m. 1973⁠–⁠1986)​
Children2
Member of the North Dakota Senate
from the 17th district
In office
December 1, 1976 – June 1, 2022
Preceded byN/A[1]
Succeeded byJonathan Sickler
Signature

Raymon Everett Holmberg (born December 10, 1944) is a former educator, school counselor, Republican North Dakota state senator, convicted felon, and sex offender.

Once tied for the longest-serving state legislator in the United States, Holmberg resigned from the senate in 2022 (after 45.5 years) upon investigation into his alleged child sex tourism and receipt of child pornography. In 2024, he pled guilty to charges of the former.

Personal life

Raymon Everett Holmberg[2] was born on December 10, 1944.[3] He had at least one sibling, a sister.[4] He attended Climax High School in Climax, Minnesota, and was one of 26 senior-class students in the 1960–1961 academic year.[5] He married Kerry Louise Hackett (born 1950 or 1951) of Grand Forks, North Dakota, on April 27, 1973[6]; they divorced in 1986[7]. As of 2013, Holmberg had two children and five grandchildren.[8] In December 2020, he contracted COVID-19 and was treated with a convalescent plasma injection.[3][1]

Career

Education

From 1967 to 2002, Holmberg worked for Grand Forks Public Schools as a teacher, "child find coordinator", and school counselor. On November 2, 2023, a North Dakota Department of Public Instruction panel voted unanimously to suspend his lifetime teaching license, with a plan "to revoke it immediately if he pleads guilty to or is convicted of any charge" in his 2023 criminal case.[9]

He was also previously a chairman of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.[8]

Politics

Holmberg was first elected as a Republican to the North Dakota Senate in 1976, and took office that December 1, representing District 17 ("Grand Forks south of 32nd Avenue South, neighborhoods along the Red River, and large areas west and south of the city").[1] He was to have been one of North Dakota's three electors for certifying the 2020 United States presidential election, but was replaced after contracting COVID-19.[3]

For many years in office, Holmberg chaired both the senate's appropriations committee (which wrote budgets) and legislative management panel (which handled the legislature’s business between biennial sessions).[10] While on a 2021 legislative committee to redistrict the state, Holmberg rejected a map drawing a Native American-majority district, saying it was to avoid gerrymandering; the approved redistricting map was ruled a violation of the Voting Rights Act in 2023 by Judge Peter D. Welte in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota.[11]

After the 2021 retirement of Fred Risser of the Wisconsin Senate, Holmberg was tied with Nikki G. Setzler of the South Carolina Senate for longest-serving state legislator in the United States.[1] In 2021, Holmberg was the Grand Forks Herald's person of the year. In 2022, he was chairman of the Senate's Appropriations, Rules, and Legislative Management committees while also serving on the interim Budget Section; The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead called Holmberg "one of the most powerful and popular lawmakers in the legislature".[12] From 2013 through mid-2022, Holmberg spent more state money on travel than any other legislator (US$125,810).[13]

In June 2021, Holmberg raised about $20,000 (equivalent to about $23,000 in 2024) for his 2022 reelection campaign.[14] In March 2022, Holmberg announced he would not seek reelection that year due to "health issues including weakened cognitive abilities". After an investigation was published about his communications with an inmate accused of child pornography crimes, Holmberg resigned from the Senate[15] six months early, on June 1, 2022. He was replaced by Jonathan Sickler.[16] Despite no longer working in the North Dakota State Capitol, as of November 2023, Holmberg was still active in politics: offering advice and meeting with legislators to share access to his institutional knowledge, soliciting support for Republican candidates, and corresponding with politicos.[14]

Electoral history

2010, primary, North Dakota state senate, 17th District[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ray Holmberg 1,198 99.34
Republican Write-in candidate(s) 8 0.66
2010, general, North Dakota state senate, 17th District[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ray Holmberg 4,088 67.91
Democratic–NPL Thomas Petros 1,915 31.81
Write-in candidate(s) 17 0.28
2014, primary, North Dakota state senate, 17th District[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ray Holmberg 784 99.87
Republican Write-in candidate(s) 1 0.13
2014, general, North Dakota state senate, 17th District[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ray Holmberg 4,869 97.97
Write-in candidate(s) 101 2.03
2018, primary, North Dakota state senate, 17th District[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ray Holmberg 1,519 99.67
Republican Write-in candidate(s) 5 0.33
2018, general, North Dakota state senate, 17th District[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ray Holmberg 5,176 59.03
Democratic–NPL Phyllis E Johnson 3,584 40.87
Write-in candidate(s) 9 0.10

Criminal charges

Background

In 2020, Caton Todd (formerly of North Dakota) alleged he was sexually assaulted by Holmberg in 2010, after having been invited to the senator's Miami-area condominium. Holmberg's attorney later confirmed the two men spent time together and that Holmberg owned the condo.[15]

Arrested in March 2021, Nicholas James Morgan-DeRosier (from East Grand Forks, Minnesota, born 1988 or 1989)[23] was indicted ten months later on charges of "receiving and distributing child porn, transporting child porn, transporting minors with intent for those children to engage in sexual activity, and traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity".[24] Court documents listed Morgan-DeRosier having over 6500 images and videos of child sexual abuse material.[12]

On August 23, 2021, while Morgan-DeRosier was incarcerated in the Grand Forks County, North Dakota jail on the possession charges, he texted Holmberg, and the two exchanged 65 messages between 3:23 and 5:24 p.m., in part discussing Holmberg's interest in meeting Morgan-DeRosier's 19-or-20-year-old boyfriend "to give him a massage". The next day, Holmberg texted Morgan-DeRosier, and seven messages were passed back and forth between 6:14 and 6:31 p.m. Morgan-DeRosier was bailed out at 9:14 p.m. on August 24. These text exchanges came to light as federal prosecutor Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl's evidence at Morgan-DeRosier's detention hearing. When The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead uncovered this connection and asked Holmberg about them, the legislator said the messages were about patio construction, claimed ignorance of the massage-related messages, and both claimed to have read about Morgan-DeRosier's changes while also not knowing about them. He later told The Forum, of his texts with Morgan-DeRosier, "They're just gone."[12] Morgan-DeRosier pled guilty to "seven criminal charges related to possessing and distributing child pornography" in September 2023. On May 30, 2024, Judge Peter D. Welte imposed a sentence of 40 years imprisonment, victim restitution of $39,000, and mandatory registration as a sex offender.[25]

At 9:30 a.m. on November 17, 2021, Holmberg's Grand Forks condominium was searched by the federal Department of Homeland Security and the Grand Forks Police Department. Holmberg was interviewed by agents, and evidentiary material was seized from his home, including CD-Rs, DVD-Rs,[26] and Holmberg's state-issued iPad and laptop computer.[27] Evidence led to an email account belonging to Holmberg, which he used to plan his trips, saying "The boys rent at around $60 (sex is extra)" and "No one is ever too young …remember Prague."[28]

Prosecutors ultimately determined that, as part of state-funded trips—in cooperation with Atlantik-Brücke to "understand and integrate the various facets of international politics, business, academia and culture"[29]—Holmberg took at least three individual trips to Prague, Czech Republic (June 24, 2011; September 29, 2018; and late June 2019) to illegally have sex with minors. With his senatorial leadership position, Holmberg approved state reimbursement of $126,000 of his own personal travel expenses to Prague.[28]

Federal indictment and trial

A grand jury in the US District Court for North Dakota returned an indictment against Holmberg on October 26, 2023 (United States of America v. Raymon Everett Holmberg). Holmberg was also indicted for receiving or attempting to receive child pornography (between November 24, 2012, and March 4, 2013); Jennifer Puhl testified that Holmberg used the aliases Sean Evan and Sean Evans "to convince a child to send him sexually explicit images".[13]

Arrested and arraigned on October 30, Holmberg pled not-guilty at the US District Court in Fargo, North Dakota.[30] Judge Alice Senechal released Holmberg under the conditions: forfeiture of his passport; no contact with minors, victims, and witnesses; no access to the internet, no travel outside Greater Grand Forks[13] or Fargo; and no possession of firearms.[31] Senechal set a trial date of December 5, 2023,[13] to be adjudicated by Judge Daniel L. Hovland. [31] On November 14, upon request of Holmberg's defense team, and with no objection from the federal prosecutor, Hovland postponed the Fargo trial to April 29, which was expected to last five days;[32] in March 2024, it was delayed again until September 9.[33]

On August 8, pursuant to a plea agreement (United States of America v. Raymon Everett Holmberg), Holmberg pled guilty to child sex tourism charges stemming from his travel to the Czech Republic and waived his right to appeal; in exchange, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed to drop charges of receiving child pornography and attempts there to, and would "seek a sentence on the low end of sentencing guidelines." The maximum sentence was 30 years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines, and he will be required to register as a sex offender. Holmberg's allocution additionally included admissions of sex quid pro quo, receipt and consumption of child pornography. Due to Holmberg's health problems, Judge Hovland released him from custody with a GPS tracker, pending sentencing, despite previous violations of his terms of release.[34][28] There is no required minimum sentencing.[35]

Post-conviction and sentencing

On October 10, 2024, the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System reported that Holmberg had again violated the terms of his pretrial release, this time by repeatedly accessing social media[36] and leaving home multiple times without prior approval.[37] On October 29, Judge Hovland revoked Holmberg's pretrial release and ordered him to report to jail by November 1 (United States of America v. Raymon Holmberg).[38] That day, Holmberg surrendered to the United States Marshals Service and was imprisoned[39] in the Sherburne County, Minnesota jail[40] in Elk River, Minnesota.[35]

Holmberg's sentencing hearing was scheduled for March 26, 2025.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kurtz, Adam (June 8, 2021). "44 years in, Sen. Ray Holmberg is tied for longest serving state senator in the nation". Grand Forks Herald. ISSN 0745-9661. OCLC 1751382. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2023. Holmberg was informed of his status by the National Conference of State Legislatures, a group dedicated to advancing the effectiveness of those governing bodies and their inter-state cooperation, after the retirement of the longest-serving state politician, a Wisconsin Democratic Assembly member.
  2. ^ Puhl, Jennifer, United States of America v. Raymon Everett Holmberg (PDF), United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, archived (PDF) from the original on October 31, 2023, retrieved November 2, 2023 – via KVRR
  3. ^ a b c Turley, Jeremy (December 10, 2020). "Longtime Grand Forks lawmaker, 3 legislative staffers test positive for COVID-19 after meetings". Grand Forks Herald. ISSN 0745-9661. OCLC 1751382. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023. Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks, said he almost certainly caught the virus from 'our petri dish called the Legislature' since he hadn't been anywhere else in the last two weeks.
  4. ^ Baumgarten, April (October 17, 2024). "Ray Holmberg was helping attorney, not violating terms of release, defense argues as possible jail time looms". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Fargo, North Dakota. ISSN 0895-1292. OCLC 9563116. Archived from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025. A prosecutor said she can't ignore the violations, adding that the former North Dakota lawmaker is not taking warnings seriously.
  5. ^ Peterson, Ronald; Evenson, Duane, eds. (1961). The Viking Yearbook. Climax, Minnesota: Climax High School.
  6. ^ "Grand Forks County Equalization", Grand Forks County Marriage Records, Grand Forks, North Dakota, April 27, 1973 – via Ancestry.com
  7. ^ "Divorces". Grand Forks Herald. July 2, 1986. ISSN 0745-9661. OCLC 1751382. Raymon E. Holmberg from Kerry L. Holmberg. She will resume her maiden name of Hackett.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ a b "Senator Ray Holmberg". North Dakota Legislative Council. North Dakota Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  9. ^ Dura, Jack (November 2, 2023). "State funded some trips for ex-North Dakota senator charged with traveling to pay for sex with minor". Bismarck, North Dakota: Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Dura, Jack (June 24, 2024). "Former North Dakota lawmaker to plead guilty to traveling to pay for sex with minor". Bismarck, North Dakota: Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  11. ^ "Judge finds North Dakota violated Voting Rights Act, diluted Native American vote". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. November 17, 2023. ISSN 0745-9661. OCLC 1751382. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024. A federal judge ruled Friday, Nov. 17, that the North Dakota Legislature will have until Dec. 22 to remedy the violation
  12. ^ a b c Baumgarten, April (April 15, 2022). "North Dakota's longest-serving state senator exchanged 72 texts with jailed child porn suspect". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Grand Forks, North Dakota. ISSN 0895-1292. OCLC 9563116. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023. State Sen. Ray Holmberg of Grand Forks told a reporter he no longer had the text messages. When asked what happened to the texts, Holmberg said, 'They're just gone.'
  13. ^ a b c d Baumgarten, April (October 30, 2023). "Former North Dakota Sen. Ray Holmberg denies traveling to have sex with minors after federal indictment". Grand Forks Herald. ISSN 0745-9661. OCLC 1751382. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023. An indictment that was unsealed Monday alleged he traveled to Prague with intentions to have sex with minors, as well as received or attempted to receive child porn.
  14. ^ a b Port, Rob (November 2, 2023). "Holmberg stayed in contact with lawmakers even amid scandal". The Dickinson Press. Minot, North Dakota. ISSN 1049-6718. OCLC 1566609. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023. Former Sen. Ray Holmberg, who is currently facing federal criminal charges, has kept up correspondence with current state lawmakers
  15. ^ a b Turley, Jeremy (April 25, 2022). "North Dakota Sen. Holmberg to resign after text exchanges with jailed child porn suspect". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Bismarck, North Dakota. ISSN 0895-1292. OCLC 9563116. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023. An investigation published by The Forum on April 15 revealed that North Dakota Sen. Ray Holmberg exchanged 72 text messages in August with Nicholas Morgan-Derosier, a Grand Forks County Jail inmate suspected of child porn and sex abuse crimes.
  16. ^ Barrett, Doug (June 1, 2022). "Republicans select Sickler in District 17". KNOX. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  17. ^ "Official 2010 Primary Election Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. June 8, 2010. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  18. ^ "Official 2010 General Election Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  19. ^ "Official 2014 Primary Election Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. June 10, 2014. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  20. ^ "Official 2014 General Election Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  21. ^ "Official 2018 Primary Election Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. June 12, 2018. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  22. ^ "Official 2018 General Election Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  23. ^ Shirley, Hannah (March 27, 2021). "East Grand Forks landscaper charged with possession of child pornography". Grand Forks Herald. ISSN 0745-9661. OCLC 1751382. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023. Nicholas James Morgan DeRosier, 33, could face up to 50 years in prison if convicted for possessing child porn.
  24. ^ Baumgarten, April (January 14, 2022). "Grand Forks man charged with exchanging child porn, transporting kids with intent to sexually abuse them". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Fargo, North Dakota. ISSN 0895-1292. OCLC 9563116. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023. Court documents detail the child porn files allegedly found on electronic devices owned by Nicholas Morgan-Derosier.
  25. ^ Beach, Jeff (May 30, 2024). "Man linked to former state senator sentenced to 40 years on child porn charges". North Dakota Monitor. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  26. ^ Baumgarten, April (May 6, 2022). "Feds searched home of North Dakota Sen. Holmberg, took items into evidence". Grand Forks Herald. ISSN 0745-9661. OCLC 1751382. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023. Officers who searched Holmberg's condo in Grand Forks also investigated a child porn suspect who exchanged texts with the state senator.
  27. ^ Baumgarten, April (June 8, 2022). "Former North Dakota lawmaker's state-issued laptop, iPad seized after texts with child porn suspect". Grand Forks Herald. ISSN 0745-9661. OCLC 1751382. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023. Federal agents took several electronic items and storage devices from Ray Holmberg's home in November, including some the state of North Dakota gave him to use as a lawmaker, his attorney confirmed.
  28. ^ a b c Beach, Jeff (August 8, 2024). "Former North Dakota lawmaker pleads guilty to traveling for sex with children". North Dakota Monitor. Archived from the original on November 5, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  29. ^ Baumgarten, April (November 1, 2023). "Ray Holmberg, accused of traveling to have sex with a child in Prague, used state funds for trips to city". Grand Forks Herald. ISSN 0745-9661. OCLC 1751382. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023. Receipts showed the former North Dakota senator used the Global Bridges program to travel to Prague at least three times, including once that fell in the timeframe of the federal allegations.
  30. ^ Dura, Jack (October 30, 2023). "Ex-North Dakota lawmaker charged with traveling for sex with minor, receiving child sex abuse images". Bismarck, North Dakota: Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  31. ^ a b Carvell, Tasha (October 30, 2023). "Former State Sen. Holmberg indicted on child sex tourism & pornography charges; pleads not guilty". Grand Forks, North Dakota: KFGO. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  32. ^ Dura, Jack (November 14, 2023). "Trial rescheduled for April for former N.D. lawmaker accused of traveling for sex with minor". The Seattle Times. Bismarck, North Dakota. Associated Press. ISSN 0745-9696. OCLC 9198928. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  33. ^ Schonert, Ty (March 11, 2024). "Trial in former ND Senator's child sex abuse case delayed to September". Fargo, North Dakota: WZFG. Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  34. ^ Dura, Jack (August 8, 2024). "Powerful former North Dakota lawmaker pleads guilty to traveling to Europe to pay for sex with minor". Fargo, North Dakota: Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 15, 2025. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  35. ^ a b c Baumgarten, April (February 10, 2025). "Ray Holmberg to be sentenced next month for traveling abroad with plans to sexually abuse children". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Fargo, North Dakota. ISSN 0895-1292. OCLC 9563116. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025. Court records indicate the former North Dakota senator's sentencing hearing is set for March 26.
  36. ^ Harbo, Ingrid (October 11, 2024). "Former North Dakota Sen. Ray Holmberg continued to violate release conditions after guilty plea, report says". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Fargo, North Dakota. ISSN 0895-1292. OCLC 9563116. Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 28, 2025. Former Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks, has accessed the internet multiple times without approval, according to the U.S. Pretrial Services report filed Thursday, Oct. 10.
  37. ^ Steurer, Mary (October 11, 2024). "Former state senator convicted of child sex crime again accused of violating pretrial release". North Dakota Monitor. Archived from the original on November 7, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  38. ^ "Judge orders Holmberg to report to jail". North Dakota: KX Television. October 29, 2024. Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  39. ^ "Former ND Senator Ray Holmberg in federal custody". Fargo, North Dakota: KX Television. November 1, 2024. Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  40. ^ "Sherburne County Inmate Search". Sherburne County, Minnesota. Retrieved February 25, 2025.

Further reading

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