Zumba Scandal Rocks Kennebunk, Maine, Instructor Alexis Wright Charged With Running Prostitution Ring Out Of Dance Studio
Alexis Wright, a 29-year old fitness instructor, has been arrested and charged with running a prostitution ring inside her Zumba dance studio in Kennebunk, Maine.
While the upscale southern Maine town is known for its ocean beaches, old sea captains' mansions, the recent arrest of Wright amid the Zumba scandal has turned the squeaky clean town upside down.
Charges have since been filed against the local fitness instructor, as well as her business partner, 57-year-old Mark Strong Sr. Officials added that Wright secretly videotaped the encounters between her and her customers.
As authorities are expected to issue summons for those involved in the scandal, the town of Kennebunk is on the edge of its seat, waiting for the revelation of which of their friends and neighbors are among her secret customers.
“Any time something like that happens, people get curious. It’s almost like the newspapers are teasing us that there are prominent names on the list. But maybe it’ll be nothing,” Dan Breton, a business owner in town, told the Associated Press.
The names of the men who sought services are expected to be released to the public within the next few weeks. Authorities reportedly obtained over 100 hours of video and more than 14,000 screen shots captured on seized computers.
Reports indicate that Wright, dressed conservatively in a jacket, blouse and slacks, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Portland to 106 counts of prostitution, violation of privacy, tax evasion and other charges for allegedly providing sex for money at her fitness studio and a nearby one-room office she rented. Strong Sr. pleaded not guilty to 59 counts of promotion of prostitution and violation of privacy.
Wright allegedly received attention from police after a blog post accused her of being a prostitute.
"She's living a double life and is a porn star. She may be a prostitute for all I know," the blog entry, obtained by Gawker, read.
Other suspicions the lead police to the scandal included cars going in and out of the studio's parking lot at odd hours.
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