Defense asks judge to keep Holmberg out of prison

FARGO (KVRR) – An attorney for a former state senator who pleaded guilty to traveling to a foreign country to have commercial sex with minor boys is asking a federal judge to impose a sentence that does not require going to prison.

Ray Holmberg of Grand Forks will be sentenced March 26 in U.S. District Court in Fargo.

Holmberg’s attorney, Mark Friese, is asking that the 81-year-old Holmberg’s age and poor health be considered.

“For his crime, Mr. Holmberg has served nearly a full year of house arrest, and will have served 145 days in custody at the time of sentencing,” according to Friese.

“Mr. Holmberg respectfully requests the Court impose a sentence of time served, together with a period of home detention as a condition of supervised release, the duration of such additional home detention determined by the Court.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl is recommending that Holmberg be sentenced to 37 months in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

“The nature and extent of Holmberg’s criminal conduct—his persistently flying to a foreign country to engage in commercial sex with some of the most vulnerable boys in the world…and his insatiable sexual appetite for sex workers throughout the United States all necessitate a within-guideline sentence.”

Holmberg was in the North Dakota Legislature for 45 years before he resigned in 2022.