Man’s sexual assault claim surfaces amid scrutiny of North Dakota lawmaker

MINOT, N.D. — A 2020 Twitter thread about an alleged sexual assault has risen to the floor as a North Dakota lawmaker faces rising scrutiny.

Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks, introduced on Wednesday, April 20, that he was

resigning as chairman of the Legislative Administration committee

.

That announcement got here within the wake of a narrative by The Discussion board of Fargo-Moorhead that Holmberg had been

exchanging texts with a person jailed on baby pornography fees

.

Holmberg, 78, had beforehand introduced that he was retiring this 12 months after a record-setting 44-year tenure within the North Dakota Legislature.

When contacted by Discussion board Information Service earlier this week, Holmberg declined to remark and directed all inquiries to his new legal professional, Mark Friese of the Vogel Regulation Agency in Fargo.

“We’re investigating this,” Friese stated in an interview Monday, April 18. “That the 2 had been acquainted and hung out collectively isn’t in dispute. Any accusations of inappropriate habits we dispute.”

Within the Twitter thread, a former North Dakota resident alleges that he was sexually assaulted by Holmberg in 2010, after Holmberg invited the person to remain at his condominium in Florida.

Caton Todd’s thread was apparently ignored

when it was posted in January 2020. As of Friday, April 22, the thread has acquired no likes, replies or retweets within the greater than two years it has been on-line. Todd has only a few followers on Twitter.

In a telephone interview with Discussion board Information Service, Todd stated he met Holmberg by way of a mutual pal in 2009. He stated they stayed in contact and the 2 turned pals.

Todd stated that, in 2010, Holmberg invited him to spend time at a Miami-area apartment that Holmberg owned. Holmberg even provided to pay for the journey, one thing he finally adopted by way of on.

Requested if Holmberg denied inviting Todd to go to him in Florida, legal professional Friese on Wednesday, April 20, stated, “No, under no circumstances.” Friese additionally confirmed to Discussion board Information Service that Holmberg owned a apartment within the Miami space at the moment.

Todd instructed FNS that he has not had contact with Holmberg since 2010.

In 2020, utilizing the #metoo hashtag on Twitter, Todd tagged a number of nationwide information shops. However no one contacted him till now, he stated.

The thread gained consideration after The Discussion board story was printed on-line April 15.

In August, Holmberg exchanged 72 textual content messages over two days with Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier, who on the time was in custody on the Grand Forks County jail on

suspicion of kid pornography and intercourse abuse crimes

. That info got here by way of a public data request from The Discussion board to the jail.

Rob Port is a columnist, information reporter and podcast host for Discussion board Information Service. Attain him at

rport@forumcomm.com

.