The Zumba instructor Alexis Wright has put Kennebunk on the map. Kennebunk is a seaside town rich in New England heritage and a fun getaway town for tourists and mild-living locals. She made it famous by seeing more than 100 clients as a prostitute in her studio, and has been sentenced to 10 months in jail. Meanwhile, she seems to have taken in the judge with her story that her business partner exploited her. As the trial revealed, she suffered sexual abuse as a child, and witnessed domestic abuse, a background that made her susceptible to being manipulated by Mark Strong.
“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,” said Justice Nancy Mills, according to the Associated Press.
What she said, specifically, was that she wants to help other women who were similarly “trapped.”
“In my eyes I’m free. I’m free from this. And 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 will believe their story, no matter how crazy it seems,” she told the judge.
“It’s my intention to stand up for what is right. When I’m out, I’m going to pursue helping people fight through situations that are similar to mine. I’m optimistic that something good will come out of this.”
This self-help rhetoric is her answer to being charged with running a business of prostitution with business partner Strong, and for 18 months videotaping their clients in secret, making $150,000 tax-free, and collecting $40,000 in public assistance.
Strong, 57, for his part, was convicted of 13 counts of promotion of prostitution and was sentenced to only 20 days in jail.