Fifth District Court Judge Robert Lane ate the lunch his wife made him while "wrestling" with the decision of whether to revoke or reinstate Darrin Tuck's probation.

Tuck, 26, is the Pahrump resident who turned over the videotape of a 3-year-old girl being sexually assaulted.

The video helped authorities identify the girl (now 7 and safe in Las Vegas with her mother) and the alleged perpetrator, Chester Stiles.

During the search for Stiles and the assault victim, Tuck was arrested and put in jail for violating his probation by failing to pay child support.

Tuck was sentenced by Lane to five months in jail and a dishonorable discharge from drug court for failing to abide by a plea agreement he struck with the state in which he plead guilty to a felony charge of failing to pay child support.

What would have been a fairly straightforward case of delinquent payments, however, was complicated by that state's additional allegation that Tuck had also violated his probation by breaking the law, referring to the charge Tuck is currently facing of possession of child pornography.

"Mr. Tuck is being sentenced today for nonpayment of child support, not for the underlying infraction," Judge Lane emphasized. "The underlying infraction, he is presumed innocent, is innocent, and if it goes to trial the jury will decide if he committed this offense."

Under the agreement Tuck violated, made in August, Tuck was to make payments of $160 on the first of every month in addition to $40 to compensate for the money he was in arrears.

He was given 60 days to comply with that agreement once he secured employment.

Kimberly Taylor, a child support enforcement case worker for Nye County, testified that during the last two years she had been in charge of the case, Tuck had not made a single payment on the $13,869 he owed.

Taylor said the only contact she had with Tuck was this past May, after which no payments were received.

Tuck's family supported Lane's decision.

"We feel the judge made a fair decision as respects Darrin Tuck Jr.'s child support issues," his father said in a written statement. "We are supportive of the judge's decision and are pleased that that the pornography charges were not included in today's action. He deserves a fair trial when the time comes." The judge did, however, concede the videotape charge was a factor that had to be considered.

"We want to encourage citizens to turn in tapes immediately when they find them, or any other evidence," Lane said.

Sheriff's Det. David Boruchowitz testified to Tuck's turning the tape over to him and his admission to burying it under his trailer after watching part of it.

He also said Tuck's story about how long he had the tape changed a number of times.

Tuck has consistently maintained that he turned the tape over to authorities as part of his effort to straighten out his life.

"As far as the drug court program, if you check on the dates, I wasn't in drug court two weeks when I decided to turn the tape in," Tuck told Lane. "And like you said, with the twelve steps, that I thought was a part of making amends and ... doing what's right and trying to clear my conscience."

Scarlett Patrick, drug court administrator, testified that Tuck had been doing well in drug court and had spoken to her about the tape after turning it over.

"He was scared, confused," Patrick told the court. "Basically, he was just wanting to do the right thing."

Chris Rasmussen, Tuck's defense attorney, argued that as a methamphetamine user, Tuck was paranoid of authorities, and as such would be less inclined to turn the tape over during that time in his life.

The defense attorney argued that since Tuck was now sitting in jail, "his paranoia came true."

"Probation is a gift from the state," Prosecutor Joseph Muckleroy countered. "The defendant should be in jail for not paying his child support."

He added that Tuck should have known immediately once discovering the contents of the video that he was breaking the law by having it.

As far as the alleged violation of failure to report, Lane said the state failed to show any evidence that he knew his probation officer was looking for him.

Brian Gentry, Tuck's probation officer, said he was told by his superiors to find Tuck and arrest him Sept. 28 because charges were going to be filed against him.

Gentry said he was informed that Tuck was in custody of the District Attorney's office that day because he was taking a lie detector test in Las Vegas.

The probation officer said he was told Tuck asked to be dropped off at the Saddle West around 7 p.m.

He told the court he went to the Saddle West, Tuck's residence, and then Tuck's parents' residence in an effort to locate him.

Gentry added that he attempted to contact Tuck twice on his cell phone, but never received a call back.

Although Tuck never returned the officer's call, he turned himself in to the sheriff's office that Sunday.