Child sex tourism fuels demand for human trafficking, expert says

A former North Dakota lawmaker who pleaded guilty Thursday to a child sex tourism charge believed he wasn’t breaking any local laws.

But that doesn’t matter under U.S. law, said the CEO of an organization that fights child sexual exploitation.

“It is a crime to purchase a child’s body anywhere in the world,” said Lori Cohen, an attorney who leads the organization known as PACT, or Protect All Children from Trafficking. “And U.S. law is very clear about this. There are no exceptions.”

Former Sen. Ray Holmberg pleaded guilty to traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, specifically that he intended to purchase sex from minors under 18. Prosecutors allege he took about 14 trips to Prague between 2011 and 2021 to pay for sex acts with boys.