TAMPA – An adult pornography producer was sentenced today to 46 months in federal prison for distributing obscene materials.

Paul F. Little, also known as Max Hardcore, and his company, Max World Entertainment, were convicted in June of five counts each of distributing obscene materials over the Internet and through the mail. The jury ruled the films, which include scenes of vomiting, violence and urination, were criminally obscene.

Today, U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew ordered Little, 50, to pay a $7,500 fine on his own behalf and another $7,500 on behalf of his company.

Bucklew also ordered him to serve three years probation upon his release from prison, placed the company on five years probation and imposed a total of $5,000 in special assessments.

Before he was sentenced, Little apologized to the court and said the videos and DVDs in question were labeled and intended for the more permissive European market, not for sale in the United States.

Bucklew sided with the prosecution’s argument that the designation was a marketing ploy to let buyers know the material was extreme.

According to evidence in the trial, federal investigators in January 2006 purchased an online membership to the Max Hardcore Web site and downloaded five promotional video clips. Then, in March 2007, an undercover postal inspector bought five DVDs from the Web site, having them delivered to a post office box in Tampa.