What did Ray Holmberg do? Severe charges against ex-North Dakota lawmaker explored 

A retired state senator from North Dakota, Ray Holmberg, who resigned earlier this year over exchanging texts with a person jailed on charges related to child abuse images, was charged with traveling to Prague with the intent to engage in intercourse with a minor.

Trigger warning: This article contains information about s*xual abuse. Reader discretion is advised

Furthermore, Holmberg, who was arrested on Monday, October 30, was charged with receiving images depicting child s*xual abuse from November 2012 to March 2013.

The 79-year-old, who pleaded not guilty to two federal child porn charges, was arrested two years after police raided Holmberg‘s home. Law enforcement raided the senator's home in 2021 after an investigation revealed that he had exchanged scores of illicit text messages with Nicholas Morgan Derosier, who was imprisoned on child pornography charges.

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What we know about the charges levelled against Ray Holmberg

Ray Holmberg, the longest-serving senator who ended his 46-year career over trading illicit texts with a suspect jailed on child pornography charges, chaired the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes budgets.

Law enforcement began investigating Holmberg shortly after they discovered a string of texts between the retired senator and Nicholas Morgan Derosier, who was imprisoned on child porn charges.

Shortly after, in 2021, Law enforcement searched Ray Holmberg’s Grand Forks home, seizing video discs and additional items.

In March 2022, Ray Holmberg announced that he wouldn’t seek re-election, citing stress and “a weakened ability to concentrate on the matters at hand and effectively recall events” before resigning in early 2023.

At the time, Associated Press alleged Holmberg made taxpayer-funded trips to four dozen U.S. cities, China, Canada and several countries in Europe, including Prague. The former senator was reportedly reimbursed about $126,000 for nearly 70 out-of-state trips from 2013 through mid-April of 2022, which was considered many times higher than the average.

Following the recent charges, prosecutors said Holmberg repeatedly traveled to Prague from June 2011 to November 2016 to engage in s*x with a minor in exchange for money. The indictment also alleged Holmberg received and attempted to receive images that depict child s*xual abuse from November 2012 to March 2013.

Former North Dakota Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner told The Associated Press that he was disappointed by the charges, noting that the scandal will now negatively impact Holmberg's good work as a public servant.

“Here’s a situation where a man was a public servant and did a lot of positive things for the state of North Dakota, and now, I don’t know what’s going to come off this thing, but this really neutralizes all the good,” said Wardner, a Republican who served in the Senate with Holmberg for nearly 25 years.

Meanwhile, Holmberg did not comment on the incident. The retired senator arrested on Monday was released and will reportedly be on electronic monitoring. If convicted, he could face up to 50 years in prison. The trial is reportedly set for December 5, 2023.