By: Mary Steurer
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – The North Dakota Young Republicans filed a resolution urging lawmakers to study child exploitation by public officials in wake of former Republican Sen. Ray Holmberg’s prison sentence.
A federal judge last week sentenced Holmberg to 10 years behind bars after the former senator pleaded guilty to traveling abroad with the intent to have commercial sex with minors. Holmberg was a state lawmaker for over four decades, and held the powerful position of Senate Appropriations Committee chair.
House Concurrent Resolution 3037, sponsored by Rep. Nico Rios, R-Williston, asks the statehouse to look for ways to prevent future crimes against children by government officials.
Brandon Prichard, chairman of the North Dakota Young Republicans, said the organization decided to propose the resolution after reading a sentencing memo filed by a federal prosecutor last month that alleged Holmberg had a pattern of exploiting boys and young men. Defense attorney Mark Friese denied many of the allegations in the memo and said there’s no evidence Holmberg had sex with minors.
Prichard said the Young Republicans were appalled by what they read and thought it necessary to take action this session to set the stage for legislative reform down the line.
“We can’t fix the world overnight,” said Prichard, a former Bismarck lawmaker.
The resolution was passed by the House Delayed Bills Committee last week. It’s scheduled for a hearing before the House Political Subdivisions Committee on Thursday at 9 a.m.
It calls on Legislative Management to research a host of policy changes.
The proposal suggests that lawmakers explore mandatory reporting requirements for public officials, for one. It also asks that legislators study creating a body within the Attorney General’s Office specifically for investigating allegations of child exploitation by public officials.
The proposal recommends looking at instituting stronger penalties for public officials who “engage in, enable or conceal” crimes against children, as well. This could include creating new mandatory minimum sentences, removal from office, loss of retirement benefits and disqualification from holding public office in the future, it states.
The resolution says that the study ought to include a review of what other states have done to address these issues.
The study should also examine ways to protect victims, witnesses and whistleblowers who report child exploitation, the proposed resolution states. At the end of the interim session, lawmakers would put together a report including any recommendations and legislative proposals for the 2027 legislative session.
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