For Darrin Tuck Jr., his sentencing hearing in Fifth District Court Tuesday, April 8 marked the end of what he called "a complete nightmare for me."

"I'm hoping that the people now understand that I didn't have any involvement with these sex crimes," Tuck said when asked if he wanted to address the court. "I'd like to move on and start my life again."

Tuck is the lifelong resident of Pahrump who last summer turned a videotape over to the Nye County Sheriff's Office showing a 2-year-old girl (now safe with her mother in Las Vegas) being sexually molested by alleged perpetrator Chester Stiles.

The videotape launched a nationwide search for both the victim and Stiles.

Although the victim was found in Las Vegas with little to no memory of the molestation and Stiles turned himself in to Henderson police in September, for Tuck the ordeal didn't end until this week.

Tuck ultimately entered into a plea agreement with the state in which he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of a public officer, a gross misdemeanor.

The charge stemmed from Tuck not turning the tape into authorities immediately (he has admitted to being on methamphetamine when he found the tape) and instead waiting several months to do so.

Tuck was sentenced to a suspended year in the county jail and three years of probation.

In addition, Tuck is required to enter into a drug rehabilitation program at his own expense.

A request from Tuck's lawyer, Chris Rasmussen, to give Tuck an informal probation so he could start his life anew by working on his aunt and uncle's ranch in another state was denied by Judge John P. Davis.

Rasmussen based his argument that Tuck should receive an informal probation was primarily on allegations and statements about Tuck made by Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo to the national media during the highly-publicized investigation.

"The sheriff in the community has made outrageous and false statements," Rasmussen said. "His rhetoric has caused an environment in this community that will not allow him to live safely."

In a sentencing memorandum submitted to the court, Rasmussen specifically points to an instance when DeMeo said Tuck would be charged with possession and exhibiting child pornography.

Not only did the district attorney not levy either of those charges against Tuck, but as the memorandum states, "This false statement sends a chilling message to the community that (Tuck) is somehow involved with child pornography beyond his heroic act of turning over the video cassette."

DeMeo also publicly alleged that Tuck had shown the videotape to other people, while Rasmussen had stated to this paper in October that those claims were simply "false" and he had received no witness statements or evidence to support the sheriff's claims.

Tuck himself answered the question of whether anyone else had seen the tape to a bevy of reporters after the sentencing hearing with a quiet and simple "no."

In addition, Rasmussen stressed that even the FBI had found no link between Stiles and Tuck.

"I don't think there's been a case recently that has been investigated with the same amount of intensity that this case has drawn," Rasmussen said. "The FBI ... is confident that Tuck had no involvement in any type of child sex, that he did just happen to find this tape."

The defense attorney said about a week before Tuck's trial was slated to begin, the FBI contacted his office and told him Stiles did in fact have a habit of hiding things in the desert, corroborating Tuck's consistent claims that he came across the tape while riding his ATV in the desert.

Even after the plea negotiation, Rasmussen pointed out DeMeo still made statements to the media, this time expressing his displeasure about an agreement that Rasmussen said left Tuck "under the cloud of suspicion" and consequently not safe.

Comments from an Internet forum about the case were also submitted to the court, many of them advocating violent renegade actions against Tuck.

Prosecutor Joseph Muckleroy responded by saying, "In the case of missing or exploited children, time is of the essence. And that's what this case is about, it's about time."

The prosecutor emphasized that Tuck was well aware of the contents of the tape prior to turning it in.

"He sat on it, month after month," Muckleroy said. "Fortunately, the girl was found in a safe environment, but Mr. Tuck didn't know that. He just mentioned this was a nightmare for him. Was it a nightmare for him when he had this tape? Was he able to sleep at night, knowing that he had this tape with a little girl being molested and not doing anything about it?"

"That's the crime of this case," the prosecutor said.

Davis concurred with Muckleroy, telling Tuck, "You'll just have to tough it out. There's a lot of places in Nevada where you can go."

Tuck hugged his stepmother and father outside the courtroom and told the media he was satisfied with the decision in spite of having to remain in the state.

"I made a bad judgment call, and I realize that," Tuck said, reiterating his meth-induced state of mind at the time he found the tape.

"My life has been turned upside down," Tuck said, describing the last six months. "I had no involvement in this crime. But I did turn in the tape. I did do what I thought was right."

When asked what Tuck thought about the comments DeMeo made about him during the investigation, he answered, "Two wrongs don't make a right. I'm not going to sit here and bad-mouth him for what he said about me."