WASHINGTON — A former North Dakota state senator pleaded guilty Aug. 8 to traveling to Prague, Czech Republic, to have commercial sex with minor boys.
According to court documents and facts established in public proceedings, Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, took approximately 14 trips to Prague between 2011 and 2021 to engage in commercial sex acts with minor boys. During some of these trips, Holmberg used the alias “Sean Evans” while staying at a brothel where young boys provided commercial sexual services. Holmberg also went to a public park in front of the main train station in Prague to procure sex from minor boys.
Holmberg also used the “Sean Evans” alias to communicate with friends about the trips. In those communications, Holmberg discussed “his twink,” and commented that “no one is ever too young . . . remember Prague.” He emailed another friend a link to a known brothel in Prague named the “Villa Mansland,” and wrote “[l]et’s go, this summer … The boys rent at around $60 (sex is extra).” Later in the communications, Holmberg wrote “it will be decadent but oh so much fun bro. What happens in Prague — Stays in Prague.” In other emails, he requested at least one of the employees at the brothel to find him a “kid.”
Holmberg pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl for the District of North Dakota; and Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul made the announcement. HSI St. Paul and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations are investigating the case.
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