Little Rock- Two former radio station employees accused of giving a gay-porn video to a minor during a gay-rights parade halted their trial to enter guilty plea to lesser charges.

Prosecutor H.G. Foster pictured] said previously that he doubted the deejays would do time. Phillip Beard and Christine Brown originally were charged with felony distribution of obscene film. But after jurors were seated and the prosecution began its case, Brown and Beard went into the judge’s chambers and entered pleas to misdemeanor charges.

Each was sentenced to 24 hours of community service and fined $250.

The two were accused of handing out obscene material during the June 2004 parade in Conway. A boy, then 16, said Beard gave him a video while dressed only in a skimpy black swimsuit.

Beard and Brown, charged under Arkansas’ obscenity statute, previously lost their argument to have the charges dropped.

Prosecutor H.G. Foster said previously that he doubted Brown or Beard would do time.

“This is an important case, but it’s mostly important as a societal statement,” Foster said prior to the entry of guilty pleas. “There are very few who would disagree that when it comes to distribution of explicit materials, generally as a society, we think that’s unacceptable.”

Arkansas has a separate charge for distribution of explicit material to minors, but Foster had said it was more appropriate to charge the pair under the state’s general obscenity statute. Penalties for both offenses are the same – fines of up to $2,000 and a maximum of five years in prison.

Potential jurors Wednesday had qualms about perhaps being asked to watch part of the tape, and the judge said he would help jurors decide what was obscene.

Jurors told lawyers and Circuit Judge Charles Clawson that they might have trouble setting aside their personal views of what is obscene. Clawson said he would instruct the panel on what constitutes obscenity.

Foster indicated that jurors might not have to watch the tape to ascertain what is on it, telling jurors he hoped they wouldn’t be put in a position where they would have to watch the DVD. He said that, perhaps, the cover of the video would be enough to warrant a conviction.

The radio station for which Beard and Brown worked said after the stunt that the pair no longer worked there.

The parade also drew a protester who dumped cow manure along the route.