A Bismack man was sentenced to 18 months in prison Wednesday morning for the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl.

Chad Boroff, 37, was charged in January with Class C felony sexual assault, Class C felony possession of certain materials prohibited and Class A misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $15,000 cash.

In January, Bismarck police conducted a search of a Bismarck residence with a search warrant and found drugs, drug paraphernalia and sexually explicit photographs of the 17-year-old girl. Boroff has lived in Bismarck since April 2005.

Burleigh County District Court Judge Thomas Schneider sentenced Boroff to five years imprisonment; however, he allowed all but 18 months of that sentence to be suspended as long as Boroff does not violate his three-year probation conditions.

The approximate six months he has already spent in custody will be deducted from the 18-month sentence.

Boroff also was sentenced to a one-year imprisonment for the drug charges. This sentence, however, will run concurrent to the other sentence.

He must also pay $550 in fees and register as a sex offender.

Following his imprisonment, Boroff likely will be extradited to Colorado, where he is wanted for sexual assault of a minor.

Schneider removed conditions sought by the state prosecutors on Boroff's probation which would have barred him from making contact with the girl with whom he has been sentenced for sexually assaulting.

The young woman has indicated she would like to continue to maintain contact with Boroff, Schneider said.

Boroff has five children from three different women - one of them he is still legally married to, although he said they separated four years ago.

He owes thousands of dollars in child support to these children.

Schneider asked Boroff if the 17-year-old was made aware of these factors prior to their relationship. He said she was.

"Certainly there is a crime of sexual assault here - he pled guilty to it and admitted responsibility to it - but look at the circumstances of it," Boroff's attorney, Justin Roness, said, adding that the girl's family was aware of their consensual relationship. "She was a couple months short of the age 18 and this relationship did not involve any physical force or unwanted contact."

Roness said the girl doesn't believe she was a victim in this matter and she is not asking for any further jail time.

The then 17-year-old girl has since turned 18.

"Obviously there was bad judgment here in not waiting those few months for the victim (to become of legal age)," Roness said.

(Reach reporter Chris Rosacker at chris.rosacker@bismarcktribube.com.)