State funded some trips for ex-North Dakota senator charged with traveling to pay for sex with minor

Nov 03, 20230

Will Kincaid, Associated Press count

North Dakota Sen. Ray Holmberg during a joint House and Senate Appropriations Committee meeting at the Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., on Jan. 7, 2009.

BISMARCK, N.D. - A former North Dakota legislator charged with traveling to Prague with the intent of paying for sex with a minor used state funds to pay for at least three trips to that city and to other destinations in Europe, according to a group that organized the travel.

Travel records from the North Dakota School Boards Association show that former state senator Ray Holmberg used public funding for trips in 2011, 2018 and 2019 to Prague in the Czech Republic and to other cities, including Amsterdam and Berlin. The trips were arranged through the Germany-based Global Bridges teacher exchange program, which received funding from the North Dakota Legislature.

A federal indictment unsealed Monday charged Holmberg with traveling to Prague with the intent of paying for sex with a minor and also with receiving images depicting child sexual abuse. Holmberg, 79, has pleaded not guilty.

https://www.startribune.com/state-funded-some-trips-for-ex-north-dakota-senator-charged-with-traveling-to-pay-for-sex-with-minor/600316781/