Woman Guilty of Prostitution Loses Post as Park Docent

Mary Ellen Tracy, who was convicted of prostitution for practicing a religion that preaches absolution through sex, has been told not to return to work as a volunteer docent at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center in Newhall.

The Canyon Country mother of eight said she was removed from the volunteer roster Dec. 17 after being told by park officials that publicity surrounding her work there was hurting the park and upsetting some of the parents of schoolchildren who had field trips scheduled.

Tracy’s work at the center was widely covered in newspapers and on television and even prompted a joke by Jay Leno on the “Tonight Show.”

She has also frequently appeared on tabloid television shows, such as “Geraldo” and “Hard Copy,” and often discussed sex and her religion in a cable access program.

Tracy, 50, said she plans to file a lawsuit against John Weber, a Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department administrator, and possibly other parks officials.

She alleges that her civil rights have been violated, and said she would seek a court order reinstating her as a park docent.

“They were very upset by the media,” Tracy said of parks officials. “They admitted that I had done nothing wrong and that they were very happy with what I had done in the program.”

Tracy, who holds a master’s degree in environmental science and chemistry, began volunteering at Placerita Canyon in November.

Weber did not return phone calls.

But Frank Hovore, natural areas administrator at Placerita Canyon, said Tracy was removed from the docent program after the park received 30 to 40 phone calls from people objecting to her presence.

While Tracy “never said anything inappropriate” when working as a tour guide, “it was really starting to hurt the program,” Hovore said. “It was causing hundreds of hours of wasted time over something that’s a big nothing.”

Hovore said he isn’t concerned about a lawsuit because Tracy was never an employee and “there are no employer-employee rights involved.”

Tracy and her husband, Will Tracy, 55, run what they call the Church of the Most High Goddess, which claims to absolve the sins of male followers through sexual religious rites that predate Christianity.

As high priestess whose religious moniker is Sabrina, Tracy said she has had sex with more than 2,000 men, many of whom also gave monetary “sacrifices” to the church.

Despite arguing that the sexual rituals were protected by constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion, the Tracys were found guilty in September, 1989, of running a house of prostitution.

Mary Ellen Tracy spent five months in jail and Will Tracy served 2 1/2 months.