PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – A federal judge overseeing a case exploring the extreme fringe of pornography suspended the obscenity trial after a newspaper reported he had posted sexually explicit photos and videos on his own Web site.

Judge Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, granted a joint prosecution and defense motion to suspend the trial after prosecutors said they needed time to look into the issue. The jury was ordered to return on Monday.

“I’m not going to say anything. The trial is ongoing,” Kozinski told a reporter as he left.

The suspension came after jurors spent hours at the Pasadena offices of the 9th Circuit watching videos of bestiality and extreme fetishes that are evidence in the trial of a Los Angeles businessman who sold them.

Kozinski indicated to the attorneys he would be willing to recuse himself but noted that the trial had already begun and jurors had already seen two of the graphic movies.

Earlier, as the jury was hearing opening statements in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site that Kozinski had posted sexual material on his site and then blocked access after being interviewed about it Tuesday evening. The images included a video of a “half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal,” the paper reported.

Kozinski told the Times that he thought the material on his Web site couldn’t be seen by the public. He said he didn’t believe the images were obscene.

“Is it prurient? I don’t know what to tell you,” he told the newspaper. “I think it’s odd and interesting. It’s part of life.”

Kozinski, 57, was assigned to oversee the trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles under a program in which appellate judges occasionally handle criminal trials at the district court level.

Kozinski became the youngest federal appeals court judge in the nation when he was appointed at age 35 to the bench by former President Ronald Reagan in 1985. He is known as a strong defender of free speech and First Amendment rights.

Before the site was blocked, visitors to http://alex.kozinski.com saw a message: “Ain’t nothin’ here. Y’all best be movin’ on, compadre.” Visitors who knew about a subdirectory could see the sexually explicit materials, as well as some of Kozinski’s legal writings and personal photos, the Times said.

Jurors in the obscenity case were being asked to decide whether or not the films businessman Ira Isaacs distributed are obscene under federal law.

They must decide if the films appeal to a loathsome or degrading type of sexual intercourse and whether the sexual conduct is “patently offensive.”

judging by the community’s standards.

Isaacs, 57, is charged with four counts, including importation or transportation of obscene material for sale. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Prosecutors also are seeking forfeiture of assets obtained through his video sales. Two of the original six counts in his indictment were dropped.