08/09/24: Former ND State Senator, Ray Holmberg, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to a charge that he traveled to Europe with the intent to pay for sex with a minor. In the plea agreement, Holmberg acknowledged that from around June 2011 to November 2016, he “repeatedly traveled from Grand Forks, North Dakota to Prague, Czech Republic with a motivating purpose of engaging in commercial sex with adolescent-age individuals under the age of 18 years.” Prosecutors say some of the boys were as young as 12. Holmberg will continue to stay out of jail while waiting for sentencing.

Dane is a criminal defense attorney and partner at Ringstrom Dekrey in Fargo. Prior to co-founding Ringstrom DeKrey, Dane was the Director of the ACLU of North Dakota, and before that, he worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Fargo. Joel and Dane go over the details of the hearing and Dane gives his expertise on the subject.