Zumba Prostitution Bust Shakes Quaint Maine Town to Its Core

Quiet, peaceful Kennebunk, Maine was shaken to its core by a massive scandal when it turned out that a local Zumba dance studio was doubling as a local brothel. The studio's owner, Alexis Wright, was charged with 106 counts of prostitution and other charges on Tuesday for allegedly using the studio and a nearby one-room office as the headquarters for her prostitution business. Her business partner, Mark Strong, was charged with 59 counts of promoting prostitution.

Even more exciting, Wright and/or Strong secretly filmed many of the encounters. In fact, so many were filmed that authorities are overwhelmed.

...they gathered more than 100 hours of video and nearly 14,000 screen shots from seized computers, Deputy District Attorney Justina McGettigan said.

"The state's in over its head. This case isn't ready for prosecution," Daniel Lilly, Strong's lawyer, said at the hearing.

Uptight Maine people, naturally, were not amused.

"There's still some of that puritanical New England left around," said Will Bradford, who owns a copy shop in town. "There are places in the world that would laugh at this."

They aren't laughing because everyone's husband/dad/uncle/son/favorite local politician probably went to the special Zumba classes.

A lot of people would rather not see the names made public because it will hurt families, children and careers, said Dan Breton, the owner of a convenience store and deli.

"I think most of my customers were shocked this was going on," Breton said. "But 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."

No way it's nothing, Breton. But this guy Patterson has a decent perspective on it, and also, probably, a decent hair cut.

"Still, the fact that it's happening in Kennebunk shows we're not above it all," Greg Patterson said while getting a haircut at a downtown barber shop.

Police first took notice of Wright last year, when a blog accused her of having a secret life.

"She's living a double life and is a porn star. She may be a prostitute for all I know," the first blog entry reads.

There were also a lot of cars going in and out of the studio's parking lot at odd hours. It turns out everyone's worst fears were right.

Wright and Strong both pled not guilty and were released on personal recognizance.

[Image via AP]