Former state Sen. Ray Holmberg arrives at the Quentin N. Burdick U.S. courthouse in Fargo for a plea hearing in North Dakota U.S. District Court on Aug. 8, 2024. (Dan Koeck/For the North Dakota Monitor)
(Mary Steurer – North Dakota Monitor) -A former state senator convicted of a child sex crime may soon be ordered to report to jail as he awaits sentencing after a federal prosecutor asked a judge to revoke his post-plea release.
Ray Holmberg, once one of North Dakota’s most powerful lawmakers, pleaded guilty in August to repeatedly traveling from Grand Forks to the Czech Republic with the intent to engage in commercial sex with adolescents under age 18.
The charge Holmberg pleaded guilty to would typically require him to be held in custody while he awaits sentencing, but the prosecution and defense agreed to allow him to stay out of jail during this period because Holmberg was dealing with health issues.
As a condition of his release, Holmberg is forbidden from using drugs or alcohol, cannot have contact with victims or witnesses, and must submit to location monitoring and internet restrictions, among other stipulations.
Over the past year, Holmberg has repeatedly violated those terms, according to court records filed by U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services. In May, he tested positive for alcohol use. He was found to have disobeyed his location monitoring requirements on multiple occasions, including by frequenting an adult novelty store.
Documents also indicate Holmberg has used the internet for unauthorized purposes several times, most recently in September.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl this week filed a motion requesting that Holmberg’s release be revoked.
“I would submit he’s exhibited flippant conduct regarding his post-plea conditions,” Puhl said of Holmberg during a Thursday hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland.
Furthermore, Puhl said that the prosecution believes the medical issues Holmberg was dealing with at the time of the release agreement no longer exist.
Hovland on Thursday asked the prosecution and defense to file briefs explaining why they think Holmberg does or does not qualify for post-plea release.
He noted that the standard for granting exceptional release is high, and the only reason he gave it to Holmberg before was because the prosecution and defense both agreed to it.
Mark Friese, Holmberg’s defense attorney, said during the hearing that Holmberg is still dealing with multiple medical issues that are “under diagnosis and are still being followed up on.”
Friese also said that many of the violations that Pretrial Services says Holmberg committed are not accurate.
For example, Friese called a report claiming that Holmberg had used social media sites including Twitter and Facebook without permission misleading.
Friese said that only happened because Holmberg was assisting him in monitoring news feeds about the case.
“He would click on those news accounts and sometimes take him to social media,” Friese said.
Friese said Holmberg has never had Twitter.
Friese also offered an explanation for a report by a Pretrial Services officer that Holmberg frequented a residence without prior authorization on Aug. 7.
“Mr. Holmberg, on his way to meet with his attorney, stopped at his sister’s residence to use the restroom,” Friese said. “I think that’s what it is, but we need to put that together.”
Friese said in the past Holmberg has received permission to stop at his sister’s when traveling from his residence in Grand Forks to Fargo for meetings with his lawyer.
A sentencing hearing has not yet been set. Holmberg, 80, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.
Under a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence on the low end of federal sentencing guidelines. Friese has previously said sentencing guidelines call for between three or four years in prison, which can vary depending on other factors determined by the court.
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