LOS ANGELES : Sex Priestess Not Exempt From Laws, Judge Rules

A self-proclaimed priestess who claimed her religion required her to have sex with parishioners is not exempt from state pandering and prostitution laws, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Mary Ellen Tracy, leader of the Church of the Most High Goddess, and husband, Will, claimed they were victims of discriminatory prosecution.

Superior Court Judge Madeline Flier denied the couple’s motion for a ruling in their favor in their lawsuit against Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti. Flier ruled that the Tracys had no standing to challenge the law.

Mary Ellen Tracy, also known as Sabrina Aset, was convicted in 1989 of pandering and prostitution. She acknowledged having sex with her followers and receiving money, which she said was given as a church offering.

She served five months in jail and her husband served six months after being convicted of operating a house of prostitution. She said Flier’s ruling deprived her and her husband of their religious freedom.

“It just completely annihilates the religion, which is exactly what the arresting officer claimed he was going to do back in 1989,” she said.

In the lawsuit, the Tracys claimed they could continue operating their church under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress last year.