A Bismarck man charged in August with a sex crime that could have sent him to prison for life was sentenced Thursday to six months behind bars on a lesser charge.
Blaine Hardy, 23, was charged with felony sexual assault after police said a woman could be heard saying no and telling him to stop several times during a three-minute cellphone audio recording.
The woman during Hardy's sentencing hearing told South Central District Judge Douglas Bahr that she suffers on a daily basis as a result of the incident.
“He didn’t stop until I started crying,” the woman said. “Deep down I’m never going to be the same.”
The felony charge was amended after an investigation to misdemeanor sexual assault--offensive conduct. Assistant Burleigh County State’s Attorney Anna Argenti said at the time that the new charge “much better fit the situation.”
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Argenti told Bahr on Thursday that the new charge is not similar to a traffic citation or a petty theft crime.
“A sexual assault crime leaves a deep scar on the victim, and she carries it for a long time if not for the rest of her life,” Argenti said.
The facts of the case support the guilty plea but “there was significant evidence of consent,” defense attorney Lloyd Suhr said. There was a point where the woman said no, Suhr said, but he added that “it’s not as one-sided, perhaps, as it was proposed to be.”
The case was more serious than most misdemeanors, Bahr said.
“There is a victim who can suffer emotionally for years and forever,” he said. “The nature of the offense is in my opinion a more serious (type of) misdemeanor with greater harm."
Bahr sentenced Hardy to 360 days in jail, suspended all but 180 days and allowed him credit for nine days served. Hardy must also spend a year on supervised probation. He will not have to register as a sex offender. Bahr denied Suhr’s request for a deferred sentence, which would have meant probation and no jail time.
“The nature of this crime does deserve some punishment, and also I believe the victim deserves to know there is some consequence because of this action,” Bahr said.