Ark Valley News - Valley Center business owner accused of prostitution

Valley Center business owner accused of prostitution
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: September 03, 2015

A business owner suspected of prostitution was arrested in Valley Center last week.

Police arrested 58-year-old Sharon Latimer of Valley Center at her massage business at 100 S. Birch, on the west edge of the downtown business district on Aug. 27.

Police Chief Mark Hephner said Latimer is accused of agreeing to exchange money for sex with a man.

"She was arrested as soon as the agreement was made," Hephner said.

Latimer was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail, but was later released.

Latimer told The News that the accusations are false and that she did not agree to have sex for money.

"Sex, to me, involves penetration or the exchange of bodily fluids," Latimer said. "I've never made an arrangement to exchange sex for money. That's what I don't understand."

Hephner said police received a tip that prostitution was taking place at the business, so they decided to keep an eye on activity there.

Latimer opened Aromatic Aromatherapy in 2003. The business is now called Planet Earth.

When it opened, the shop offered reflexology, raindrop therapy, aroma massages and hot stone therapy. The small building also has a residence in the back.

Latimer told The News that she offers full-body massages to clients.

It was the first case of alleged prostitution in Valley Center for as long as Hephner and other longtime officers could remember.