Maine Zumba Prostitution Scandal Instructor Sentenced To Jail

Alexis Wright, the Maine Zumba prostitution scandal instructor, was sentenced to 10 months in prison today for running the sex-for-sale ring from her Kennebunk exercise studio.

Wright had pleaded guilty in March. Pursuant to a plea bargain, she was sentenced today on 20 counts (out of the original 106) including prostitution, conspiracy, tax evasion, and theft by deception, all of which are misdemeanors. Despite all the money she was raking in on extra-curricular activities at the studio for about 18 months, Wright was also collecting welfare at the time. As part of the deal with prosecutors, she also pleaded guilty to welfare fraud and agreed to reimburse the state for about $60,000 in public assistance money.

The prostitution scandal was at one time one of the biggest stories in America — and certainly rocked the otherwise quiet Maine seaside town –but it has since fallen off the media radar.

Accomplice Mark Strong, the alleged business manager of the Zumba brothel, received a 20-day jail sentence in March following a jury trial, although prosecutors sought a one-year term. He served 15 days and was let go early for good behavior.

In court, Alexis Wright, 30, claimed that Strong manipulated her into getting involved in illicit activities, much of which were secretly recorded on video. She also explained that it was something like a weight being lifted off her shoulders when police finally raided the studio in February 2012. “(It) was the happiest day of my life. I felt a sense of relief as if the whole thing was going to be over. It was not until July that I first felt free in 10 years. Not until July that I started living life for myself.”

The fitness instructor was a single mother when all this was going on, but she subsequently married in July 2012. Wright also declared that she wants to help other women “fight through situations that are similar to mine” when she gets out. She begins serving her sentence in York County Jail immediately.

Some 68 Johns (and one Jane) have been charged with soliciting Wright’s services; many of these individuals have already pleaded guilty.