Former North Dakota lawmaker gets 10 year prison term for traveling to Europe to pay for sex with underage boys

A former longtime North Dakota state senator has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in August to traveling in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minor boys.

81-year-old Raymon "Ray" Everett Holmberg traveled to Prague in the Czech Republic around 14 times between 2011 and 2021, during which he stayed at a brothel "that catered to men looking to engage in commercial sex with adolescent boys," the Department of Justice said in a press release. 

Holmberg, who sometimes used the alias "Sean Evans" during such trips, paid for sex acts with boys. 

Witnesses told law enforcement that the lawmaker of 45 years did not want his name on the brothel’s registry because he was a legislator, and that Holmberg would visit a public park located in front of Prague’s main train station to procure sex from underage boys. 

The "Evans" alias was also used by Holmberg to discuss his trips with friends and encourage them to travel to Prague, the DOJ said. In one communication, Holmberg shared an image of an adolescent boy and called him "his twink," adding that "no one is ever to [sic] young … remember Prague."

An email sent to a different friend included a link to the Prague brothel and suggested that they go that summer. "The boys rent at around $60 … (sex is extra)," he wrote. He also said in the email, "It will be decadent but oh so much fun bro.  What happens in Prague—Stays in Prague."

The DOJ said that "Back in the United States, Holmberg boasted about having engaged in sexual activity with boys as young as 12- and 15-years old during his travels."

The DOJ said that Holmberg had also established an online relationship with a 16-year-old Canadian boy. Holmberg reportedly posed as a boy of a similar age "in order to manipulate the Canadian teen into taking images of himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct and sending them to Holmberg."

According to KFGO, during Wednesday’s hearing, prosecutors and the defense came to the agreement that Holmberg should serve three years in prison due to his poor health and age. Judge Daniel Hovland disagreed and said that Holmberg was still a threat to underage boys and a 37-month sentence would not deter others from doing the same actions.

Majority and minority leaders in the North Dakota Legislature said in a statement after Holmberg was sentenced, "The ND Senate and ND House are committed to providing additional resources to law enforcement to help combat increases in criminal sexual assaults and human trafficking…Ray Holmberg’s evil crimes require reflection and careful review of policy to determine how best to combat crimes against children. In the coming months, we intend to do that with sober judgment and a firm resolve."

Holmberg resigned in 2022 and was indicted on federal charges in October 2023. During his time in the Senate, Holmberg held the positions of Senate Appropriations Committee chair and head of Legislative Management.