The trial of a man who took S&M-style photos of actress Cameron Diaz more than a decade ago was postponed this week, but the Venice Beach, Calif., photographer now faces potential jail time for allegedly selling those images in defiance of a court order.

In 1992, photographer John Rutter, 41, shot about 20 topless photos and a video of the then-19-year-old Diaz, just two years before her star-turning role in "The Mask."

Last summer, Rutter approached Diaz and offered her the images for $3.3 million, saying he had been approached by an unspecified European group that wanted to buy them for $5 million.

According to Rutter, he was simply offering the actress first right of refusal. But Diaz saw it differently, and contacted the Los Angeles district attorney, who charged the photographer with extortion, attempted grand theft, perjury and forgery.

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According to Rutter's former attorney, Ronald Richards, the photographer spent 90 days in jail before he was able to scrape together the $250,000 bail.

Although the extortion charge was later dropped, prosecutors say the May 30, 1992, model-release form Rutter procured in his defense is a fake. Moreover, a forensic analyst testified in pretrial hearings that Diaz's signature was likely copied from a recent publicity shot that bore her signature.

The actress and her former shutterbug were set to meet in court Monday for trial, but Rutter's new defense attorney, Mark Werksman, who has represented stars such as Nick Nolte and Tom Sizemore, was brought on at the last minute and the proceedings were postponed to give defense counsel time to prepare.

In the meantime, Rutter may end up back in jail if prosecutors can prove he violated a court order.

Last November, a judge granted a permanent injunction against the sale of the images and also banned Rutter from possessing or publicizing them. They have been kept under lock-and-key since then in a Bank of America safety deposit box in Los Angeles and at the DA's office.

So how did a campy video of the 1992 photo shoot end up blazing through Internet chatrooms and X-rated Web sites?

Prosecutors allege that Rutter made money off the sale of the video to Caribbean-based Web site www.scandal-inc.com.

In early July, Scandal Inc. released the film for Internet viewers willing to pay a $39.95 credit-card fee. The now-defunct site also issued a press release, boasting about the "enticing non-acted film," which exposed Diaz's "wilder sexual side" and was "a real legal hot potato" for photographer Rutter.

"Overcoming extortion and forgery charges, the copyright has been licensed by Scandal-Inc.com for a world exclusive!" The July 6, 2004, release stated.

In addition, an "industry public relations figure" — identified only as KB — "who specializes in the promotion of sexy celebrity films" is quoted as saying that Rutter sold the licensing rights to the film and photos "years ago" and that Scandal Inc. picked up the rights "sometime early last year."

The vague statement seems to imply that the rights were sold prior to Rutter's legal troubles with Diaz.

Calls to a number listed on the press release were not returned.

A civil suit against the photographer is still pending. Rutter's bail status will be reviewed on Aug. 31, when a judge will determine if he violated the injunction.

Rutter's new trial date is Oct. 13. He faces a maximum of five to six years in jail if convicted.