Grand Forks Man Speaks Out For First Time About Sexual Relationship With Ray Holmberg

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR-KFGO) — Will Swearson was a cooperating witness in the case against the former state senator. Swearson said he first met Holmberg when he was a graduate student at the University of North Dakota.

“At first, he would provide me some financial assistance for me to pay for groceries (and) gas, electricity,” Swearson said. “Things began to change a little bit after that – about a year or two after – the way he started to control me using his influence became very… he exhibited the same patterns as the people that hurt me in the past,” said Swearson.

Holmberg was recently sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for traveling overseas over a number of years to have sex with underage boys. Appearing on KFGO Radio’s “News and Views,” Swearson said Holmberg was a “cunning, sharp” predator….

“He was very careful about how he did things. And when I started recognizing the patterns of what he was doing and how he was targeting young people ..I made that active decision, I tried getting out, I tried getting help.. I was ignored,” said Swearson.

Swearson says he was eight years old when he was first molested. He says he met Holmberg when he was in his mid-20s. He says he knew that Holmberg never cared for him. He referred to Holmberg as a “Goliath” and a beast of a person who considered him his “trophy piece.”

“I was terrified of Ray, I was absolutely terrified. I knew the type of political power he had and what he could wield over me. And again, I was a nobody. I am a nobody. These are the things you hear about in movies. The type of paranoia where these people can make you disappear, or they just can make your life literal hell. And I knew Ray could do that,” said Swearson.

Swearson says Holmberg held incredible power and suggested that he would be able to help Swearson find career opportunities.
He hopes his decision to go public with his story will help others who may find themselves in similar positions.

You can hear the full interview here.