Ray Holmberg after pleading guilty to travelling overseas to have sexual relations with minors. (Joe Leier/KFGO News)
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – Newly released documents from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation reveal former state Sen. Ray Holmberg discussed underage male prostitutes with several North Dakota lawmakers, businessmen, and entrepreneurs.
The report says Holmberg communicated over email with Bruce Gjovig, the former CEO and founder of the UND Center for Innovation. Holmberg told Gjovig in a conversation from 2011 that “no one is ever too young… remember Prague….” In 2009, Holmberg emailed Gjovig, saying “old enough to bleed… old enough to butcher…” Gjovig answered, “little young.” Holmberg responded with “Our kinda guy…”
In another email conversation from 2019 between Holmberg, Gjovig, and another man, Holmberg sent several photos of a male prostitute, asking the others “is he worth $150?” The othe man responded, “Yeah, I’d pay for that.”
A statement released by Gjovig’s lawyer says Gjovig was unaware of Holmberg’s criminal sexual conduct, and provided interviews and testified as part of Holmberg’s trial. Attorney Cash Aaland says Gjovig was “the recipient of what he believed were bawdry locker room type communications from Mr. Holmberg, included what Gjovig understood as crude humor and exaggerations.” The statement says Gjovig “discouraged and distanced himself.” Gjovig’s attorney says his client condemns Holmberg’s conduct.
The BCI found an email Holmberg sent to Nicholas Hacker in 2016. Hacker was in the North Dakota Senate from 2005 to 2007, representing District 42 in Grand Forks. He served on the North Dakota board of Higher Education from 2015 to 2023, serving as its chair from 2020-2023. He is the president of North Dakota Guaranty & Title Co. In the email to Hacker, Holmberg described in detail the male prostitute he had sex with while in Taipei City, Taiwan.
In a 2016 conversation between Holmberg and Nathan Rees, a UND professor, Holmberg talked about his grooming and abuse of a UND student. Holmberg brought the victim on a trip to Prague. In one email, Rees wrote, “Hope Prague is still a blast!” Holmberg replied, “It did hit the nail on the head.”
The BCI reports say Holmberg traveled around the U.S. and to Germany, London, Slovakia, Hong Kong and other places for commercial sex.
In late 2022 and early 2023, Holmberg emailed a person in the Czech Republic about the state investigation. In December 2022, Homberg wrote, “I’m deleting permanently all old emails between us… You still haven’t heard when the gestapo coming to visit you???” The unidentified person said, “The police called me yesterday saying I should come in for questioning on January 31. The US police will probably be there too.” A few days later, Homberg wrote, “The phone I had was seized by police…Remember to keep track of all they ask you.” The next day, Holmberg said, “We think that what the police are looking for is evidence that you guys lined up underage boys for me to have sex with. That is so wrong. We are friends. Love you guys.”
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley would not speak to certain individuals who may be under investigation, but says the Bureau of Criminal Investigation is committed to gathering all evidence as it pertains to the matter.
“There are moments like this where information comes out about an investigation that can sometimes be the impetus for other witnesses to be willing to come forward, and testify and provide information to law enforcement and direction,” Wrigley says. “We’re open to that all the time. I’ve said that it remains an open matter for other people who I have come into the view of federal and state law enforcement in this matter. And those matters, I don’t consider them to be in and of themselves closed, but the charging decisions in this matter are made by the prosecutors of the case, and that is the United States Attorney’s Office.”
Wrigley also says the public should expect more information to be released from the investigation of Holmberg.
“We’re busy working through that,” Wrigley says. “We’ve got tens of thousands of documents within our control, and you’ve got to go through to make sure that you’re complying with state law with any items that need to be redacted. And they can only be redacted if there’s a specific provision in state law to do so. So, there’s going to be more coming. There’s additional material, and then up ahead, there are also provisions under federal law pertaining to the federal law enforcement reports that have been created.”
The North Dakota University System released the following in response to reading recent reports about Holmberg:
“We feel despair for the victims and their families, and shock that individuals connected to the State Board of Higher Education or North Dakota University System may have had knowledge of Holmberg’s conduct. We unequivocally support those who have experienced sexual assault, exploitation, or harassment. Each of our eleven institutions has a Title IX Coordinator dedicated to investigating and preventing this conduct. In addition, all of our institutions have counseling services available. If you have experienced sexual harassment, assault, or exploitation, please contact your institution’s Title IX Coordinator. If you need someone to talk to, please reach out to the counseling services on your campus. If you have information regarding any conduct that violates the law or institutional policies, you can contact the NDUS Office of Compliance and Ethics.”
Read the full report below. WARNING: Graphic content.
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