In an interview in May 2001, Rob Zicari sent a message to law enforcement to "Put up or shut up." The pornography producer told PBS' "Frontline" that he would welcome the opportunity to be "the test case" in a renewed push to bring obscenity charges against people in his industry and that he wouldn't "go down without a fight."

Yesterday, the fight ended when he, his wife, and their California company Extreme Associates Inc., pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute obscenity dating from September 2000 to July 30, 2003.

Mr. Zicari, 35, and his wife, Janet Romano, 32, were scheduled to go to trial next week before U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster on 10 counts.

Instead, they will be sentenced on July 1. They face up to 33 months in prison.

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan prosecuted the case here after undercover postal inspectors ordered videos from Extreme Associates and had them mailed to Pittsburgh.

Mr. Zicari and Ms. Romano were indicted in August 2003 for selling videos and clips online and through the mail. The videos feature graphic scenes of simulated rape, torture, defecation and murder.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft had made prosecution of pornography one of his top priorities.

For a man who pledged to fight any obscenity charges that would come his way -- and flouted the indictment by offering for sale what he called the "Federal Five" -- the plea seems counter to what Mr. Zicari said.

"When you're dealing with people who believe in the protections of the First Amendment, these cases are very difficult," said defense attorney H. Louis Sirkin. "Having something over your head for 61/2 years is a nightmare."

The case was initially dismissed by Judge Lancaster in January 2005, but the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it 12 months later.

Mr. Sirkin's clients' decision not to go to trial came after plea negotiations started about a month ago.

"Concessions from both sides made it in the best interests of all parties," he said. "This has gone on for a very, very long time. Everybody wants to get on with their lives."

One of those concessions, Mr. Sirkin said, is that there will not be a battle to determine how much revenue the company received from the sale of the films. Depending on that number, it could have significantly increased the potential penalties.

"This case, essentially, has put Extreme Associates out of business," Ms. Buchanan said.

Further, she believes that yesterday's plea will put other companies that make pornography on notice that they must comply with the law.

"We knew that this was the right case to bring from the day we brought it," she said. "The materials produced by Extreme Associates were so far across the line between pornography and obscenity, we believe any jurisdiction across the country would have found the materials obscene."

Ms. Buchanan, who was widely criticized for pursuing the case, had no doubt that the materials made by the company met those criteria. Of those who questioned her decision, she said, "Criticizing a prosecutor for enforcing the law is a high compliment. Thank you."

Reed Lee, a First Amendment attorney who represents the adult entertainment industry, thinks that the Extreme Associates plea is disappointing, but he understood why it happened.

"At least there is some certainty [in sentencing], and the defense is facing some known situation," he said. "The uncertainties are such that if you lose [at trial], the sanctions can be huge."

Last year, pornography producer Paul Little, who goes by the name "Max Hardcore," went to trial in Florida on 10 obscenity counts. He was convicted on all of them and is now serving 46 months in prison.

Despite recent guilty pleas and guilty verdicts, Mr. Lee believes the battle over obscenity law will continue. Most people who work in the pornography industry work hard to stay within the bounds of the law, he said. And when Mr. Zicari spoke on PBS, they expected unfortunate consequences.

"I think many people in the industry shuddered when they heard those words and saw the Frontline special," Mr. Lee said. "It's not the type of situation where you want to be taunting the federal government."