Longtime State Senator Ray Holmberg entered a not guilty plea on Monday to federal charges that he traveled to the Czech Republic for the purpose of having sex with a minor.
Holmberg served more than 45 years in the North Dakota Senate before his resignation last year.
Prosecutors said in a statement that Holmberg repeatedly traveled to Prague from June 2011 to November 2016 for the purpose of having sex with a person under 18 and receiving images depicting child sexual abuse. The indictment, which also suggests Holmberg used aliases – aka Sean Evans.
North Dakota Attorney general Drew Wrigley commended the U.S. Attorney’s Office for directing this “painstaking investigation in the pursuit of justice.”
Former North Dakota Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner says he was saddened and disappointed by the indictment. “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 of this thing, but this really neutralizes all the good.”
AP/KNOX
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