Zumba Prostitution Nets Jail - Update


Alexis Wright
(Alfred, Maine)

A high-profile prostitution scandal featuring sex videos, adultery, exhibitionism and more than 100 clients drew to a close Friday when Alexis Wright, a Zumba fitness instructor who turned her Maine studio into a brothel, was sentenced to 10 months in jail.

Wright was sentenced under a plea agreement on 20 counts including prostitution, conspiracy, tax evasion and theft by deception.

Justice Nancy Mills extended wishes for success after the sentence was imposed.

Offhand, I was thinking that a bit of cozy, experienced rehabilitation with the Interested-Participant might not be a bad idea. Of course, the idea needs to be approved by superiors.

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Zumba Prostitution Case Nears Conclusion - Update
[Previous 3/30/13 post]
(Portland, Maine) The Zumba prostitution case is nearing conclusion. In accordance with a plea agreement, 30-year-old Alexis Wright pleaded guilty yesterday to theft, tax evasion and prostitution.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 31 when Wright will be ordered to serve 10 months in jail and pay more than $50K in fines and restitution.

Meanwhile, co-conspirator Mark Strong was convicted earlier this month and sentenced to 20 days in jail.

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Zumba Instructor Prostitution Case - Update
[Previous 3/8/13 post bumped]
(York County, Maine) Mark Strong Sr., co-conspirator with Alexis Wright in the Zumba prostitution scandal, was found guilty by a Superior Court jury after four hours of deliberations.

Strong Sr. will face sentencing for 12 counts of promotion of prostitution and one count of conspiring to promote prostitution.

Strong, 57, faces as much as a year in prison on each of the promotion charges and as much as six months on the conspiracy charge. All are misdemeanors.

Prosecutors argued that Strong and Alexis Wright worked together to operate a one-woman prostitution operation from Wright's Zumba studio in Kennebunk.

The trial, which started with jury selection on Jan. 22, included two appeals to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the dismissal of 46 charges against Strong, a decision on how much pornographic evidence the jury should see, and testimony that went on for close to two weeks.

Alexis Wright is scheduled for trial in May. Strong is to be sentenced on March 21.

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Zumba Instructor Prostitution Case - Update
[Previous 11/2/12 post]

Alexis Wright
(Kennebunk, Maine) Last Friday, the names of 18 more alleged prostitution customers were released by police in the Zumba instructor case. They were aged between 29 and 66.

None of the men listed by police showed addresses in Kennebunk, and only five even lived in the same county.

Two of the accused were from New Hampshire, while four were from Scarborough, Maine, and two from Saco, Maine.

Each man was summonsed for a single count of engaging a prostitute, the lowest-level of criminal misdemeanor, according to the Maine state web site.

To date, about one-fourth of the names of prostitution customers have been released.

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Maine Zumba Instructor Prostitution Case - Update
[Previous 10/16/12 post]
(Kennebunk, Maine)

Police have released the names of 21 individuals accused of soliciting sex with a Zumba instructor, who is charged with running a one-woman prostitution ring out of her studio before being arrested along with a man who allegedly videotaped the encounters without the clients’ knowledge.

The names of those charged with engaging in prostitution were posted on the department’s website, per an order from a Cumberland County court; they have all been issued summonses to appear in court on Dec. 5. Late Tuesday, a judge ruled that the alleged johns’ addresses may also be released, and police are expected to re-issue the list of names. They are among a reported 150 people — male and female — who are under investigation in connection with the case.

In a town of 10,000 population, chances are that at least a few prominent individuals are included on the list.

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Maine Zumba Instructor Accused of Prostitution
[Previous 10/9/12 post]
(Kennebunk, Maine) A 29-year-old fitness instructor, Alexis Wright, has been accused of multiple charges related to operating a prostitution enterprise out of a zumba fitness studio.

Wright faces more than 100 counts, including prostitution, theft and tax evasion. Business partner Mark Strong Sr. also faces multiple charges.

Prosecutors said they have evidence she had sex with men for money, kept meticulous records, including names and occupations and videotaped her encounters.

Police reportedly found records indicating Wright had generated $150,000 from the prostitution business.