Alexis Wright, Maine Zumba Instructor In Sex Scandal, Sentenced To Ten Months

Alexis Wright, the Maine Zumba instructor that was at the center of a sex and prostitution scandal, was sentenced to ten months behind bars on Friday, reported CBS.

Wright's sentencing came about through a plea bargain for the 20 charges against her, which included prostitution, tax evasion, theft by deception and conspiracy. She pled guilty in April to the allegations that she had been running a brothel out of her Maine Zumba studio with Mark Strong, an insurance business owner.

“In my eyes I’m free. I’m free from this,” she told the judge on Friday. “I have an incredible amount of strength that I knew was in me somewhere. Now that I have the strength I want to encourage others to come forward. I want them to know that there’s at least one person out there who’ll believe their story, no matter how crazy it seems.”

Wright, 30, claimed to have made roughly $150,000 tax-free over the 18-month period the brothel was running. During that time, she also collected over $40,000 in public assistance. Wright’s plea deal requires her to pay restitution of $57,280.64.

Strong, Wright’s business partner and married father of two, was convicted of 13 counts relating to prostitution promotion. He was sentenced to 20 days in jail.

During the trial, Wright’s attorney claimed that Strong manipulated her defendant to participate in the illegal business arrangement. He had apparently used her troubled childhood, which included witnessing domestic violence and being the victim of sexual abuse, to coerce her into the prostitution business.

Justice Nancy Mills, the judge on the case, told Wright upon the conclusion of the trial: "Based on what you have to say and what I know about you from your attorney, I know that you will succeed when you're released and that you will prevail. I wish you success.”

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