By Patric Hedlund and Gary Meyer

Two women who moved to the Cuddy Creek neighborhood from Santa Clarita in 2007 were arrested for solicitation to commit a sexual act Friday, Sept. 25. One works at a junior high school in Santa Clarita.

The Mountain Enterprise has confirmed over 200 files of internet advertising by the two, including on craigslist.org, for "sensual" services, such as a "special four hand massage."

Sergeant Mark Brown of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) said Katherine Silvers (Birrell), 56 and Sarah Sunshine, 31 (aka Sarah Birrell) were arrested by a joint vice task force of Bakersfield Police Department and KCSO. Photos of the two in various poses were still sprinkled across craigslist.org and other sites on Friday. The two advertised themselves as a "mother-daughter duo."

Neighbors in the rural horse property area say they have been approached by men asking for "Sarah." At first, neighbors said, they thought these were friends who were lost.

But by September 2008 neighborhood relations with the two newcomers frayed seriously when Silvers’ dogs allegedly escaped her fence and attacked a neighbor’s horse, then allegedly lunged at the owner of the adjacent property who came to investigate. He shot one of the dogs. The horse was injured so badly it had to be euthanized, its owner said, who asked that his name not be used at this time. Silvers filed restraining orders against both neighbors—calling much more attention to the activities at her own home at 5200 Frazier Mountain Park Road.

Silvers is listed on the William S. Hart Union High School District personnel roster as an instructional assistant at Rio Norte Junior High School in Santa Clarita. She told deputies she worked there, Brown confirmed.

Silvers also allegedly gave a neighbor a massage business card with the same telephone number as that which appears on several of the web pages with offers of "sensual massage." Other pages include explicit photos and detailed "reviews" from customers.

"The Daily Pitchfork," an online blog, argues that Silvers and Sunshine should be allowed to run "a sensual massage business outside their regular jobs. For [$250 plus] 60 bucks you get the full treatment with a happy ending."

Asked if "solicitation" and "prostitution" are different under the law, Brown said, "Basically the same. The women offered to provide a sex act and accepted money in exchange for that sex act, then removed all their clothing."

Solicitation is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail. The "duo" were cited and released from county jail about 2:20 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26. A plea bargain or trial will follow.

Calls to their numbers seeking comment were not answered. The school district is closed as we go to press this week.

This is part of the October 02, 2009 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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