The New Paper
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2012
UNITED STATES - She was an honours high school student who attended college and ran dance classes for the local parks.
She hosted charity events benefiting the Toys for Tots children's foundation and breast cancer research.
That's why some who know dance instructor Alexis Wright said she is the last person they thought who would get caught up in a headline-grabbing scandal, AP reported.
Wright, 29, has been charged with running a prostitution business out of her Zumba dance studio and secretly videotaping her encounters, prosecutors said.
Her studio is in a town in southern Maine, in the New England region of the US.
She has pleaded not guilty 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.
Her alleged business partner, Mark Strong Sr, 57, pleaded not guilty to 59 counts of promotion of prostitution and violation of privacy, CBS News reported.
Prosecutors did not say why Wright was videotaping her encounters, but they gathered more than 100 hours of video and nearly 14,000 screen shots from seized computers, Deputy District Attorney Justina McGettigan said.
The police said that judging by what they found, her alleged sexual activities would have generated as much as US$150,000 (S$183,000). She opened her Pura Vida fitness studio in 2010 teaching Zumba, a Latin-inspired fitness programme that combines aerobics and dance.
That same year, an anonymous blog accused her of not being the sweet, friendly instructor she portrayed herself to be.
"She's living a double life and is a porn star. She may be a prostitute for all I know," the first blog entry read.
Ms Sarah Churchill, Wright's lawyer, said the media have presented a one-sided view of her client.
Ms Churchill anticipates more information about Wright's charity work will make its way into the public's eye as the case goes to trial.
Wright and her husband, who married this year, declined to comment, as have other family members.
A lawyer who has seen the complete list of Wright's alleged clients said it contains the names of more than 150 men, some of them prominent.
The 39 men who have been summoned so far on suspicion of engaging Wright's services include a former mayor and the local high school ice hockey coach.
The rest of the names are expected to trickle out in the coming weeks.
