Office of Public Affairs | Former North Dakota State Senator Pleads Guilty to Traveling to Prague to Have Commercial Sex with Children

A former North Dakota state senator pleaded guilty today to traveling to Prague, Czech Republic, to engage in commercial sex acts with underage boys.

According to court documents and facts established in public proceedings, Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, made approximately 14 trips to Prague between 2011 and 2021 to engage in commercial sex acts with underage boys. During some of these trips, Holmberg used the alias “Sean Evans” while staying at a brothel where young boys provided commercial sex services. Holmberg also went to a public park in front of Prague’s main train station to solicit sex from underage boys.

Holmberg also used the alias “Sean Evans” to communicate with friends about the trips. In those communications, Holmberg discussed “his twink” and noted that “nobody is ever too young… don’t forget Prague.” He emailed another friend a link to a known Prague brothel called “Villa Mansland” and wrote, “(l)et’s go, this summer… The boys rent for around $60 (sex is extra).” Later in the communication, Holmberg wrote, “it’s gonna be decadent but oh so much fun bro. What happens in Prague – stays in Prague.” In other emails, he asked at least one of the brothel’s employees to find him a “kid.”

Holmberg pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with intent to engage in an unlawful sexual act. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. No sentencing date has been set. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The announcement was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl for the District of North Dakota; and Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul.

HSI and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Charles Schmitz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Unit and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Puhl for the District of North Dakota are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Abuse and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.