Former Sen. Ray Holmberg (R-Grand Forks)
Ray Holmberg, former Republican Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee in North Dakota, has agreed to plead guilty to traveling overseas for the purpose of having sex with children. Trips, I might add, that the taxpayers of North Dakota paid for. The plea agreement comes with the dropping of charges of possession of child pornography. It also comes with the recommendation of the U.S. Attorney’s office for the minimum sentence.
My question of you is whether or not it’s enough. On one hand, you got Holmberg to admit his guilt without it ever being left to a jury. And you’d be putting an 80-year-old man in prison for three years with no previous record.
On the other hand, he’s now admitted to being a sexual predator that raped children. He used state dollars to travel to a foreign country, all with the intent of molesting kids. Ray Holmberg is a sexual addict that I have no doubt would do it all over again if given the opportunity.
Count me in on the side of the ledger where this isn’t enough. People like him need to be put away. And when I say away, I mean put away forever. It wouldn’t take you very long to find a lesser federal crime with a higher mandatory minimum. In fact, the crimes Holmberg committed have no mandatory minimum at all.
The only saving grace will be if the U.S. Attorney’s office continues the investigation. They need to continue looking into whoever might have obstructed justice, or have been complacent in these crimes. Who knows, maybe that’s why such a light sentence was recommended. Maybe there’s still more to come.
And if there isn’t, then Holmberg won.
Good riding with you,
Joel
Comments