The US author of a guidebook for pedophiles has been sentenced to two years of probation for distributing obscene material, police said.

"I just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible," Philip Greaves told local broadcasters as he walked out of the Polk County Jail on Wednesday after taking a plea deal that gave him the probation and no additional jail time.

He was arrested in Colorado in December after selling and mailing a signed copy of "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure" to an undercover agent for $50. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Greaves, 57, had violated Florida obscenity laws in doing so.

Greaves was extradited to Florida, where he was tried and convicted. He is due to fulfill his probation in Colorado, where he was born, and must receive psychiatric treatment and pay about $2,100 for court costs, according to the sheriff's office.

His self-published digital book was taken off Amazon.com in November after the Seattle-based online retail company received hundreds of complaints from outraged customers.

In a description of the book, the author framed it as an attempt "to make pedophile situations safer for those juveniles that find themselves involved in them, by establishing certain rules for these adults to follow.

"I hope to achieve this by appealing to the better nature of pedosexuals, with hope that their doing so will result in less hatred and perhaps liter (sic) sentences should they ever be caught," Greaves said.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said the arrest warrant was obtained after undercover detectives contacted Greaves about buying the book.

"The book contains two graphic stories depicting an adult engaged in sex acts with children," the sheriff's office said at the time of the arrest.

"The book also defends, advocates, and trains adults regarding illegal sex acts between adults and children."