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Robert F. Bukaty / AP file
Mark Strong Sr., leaves the Cumberland County Court House on Jan. 18, 2013, in Portland, Maine.
The Maine insurance agent convicted of promoting prostitution was sentenced to 20 days in prison and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.
Prosecutors said that Strong helped dance instructor Alexis Wright orchestrate a prostitution ring from her Zumba studio in the seaside town of Kennebunk.
Strong was convicted of 12 charges of promotion of prostitution and 1 count of conspiracy to promote prostitution on March 6.
Wright, 30, is expected to stand trial later this year. She has pleaded not guilty to 106 charges against her, including engaging in prostitution.
Prosecutors had asked that Strong be sentenced to as long as 364 days in jail. Strong’s defense attorneys argued the man should serve no more than 14 days.
Strong made an emotional mea culpa in court on Thursday before the sentencing proceedings began.
“Mostly I’d like to apologize to my wife and my sons and my entire family for causing so much harm,” Strong said, according to the Portland Press Herald, a local paper. “The next right thing for me to do is to ask for the help I need for myself, my spiritual growth, to become the person that I want to be.”
Strong’s wife asked the judge to “go easy” on her husband, the paper reported.
The case gained national attention as allegations emerged of a sprawling client list and videotaped sexual encounters between Wright and local men.
In January, Judge Nancy Mills dismissed 46 charges leveled against Strong, all of them related to alleged violations of privacy. The decision was upheld by the state’s highest court in February. Wright’s attorney’s filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Judicial Court that month stating that their client had a “vested interest in the resolution of this appeal.”
Also in February, Mills culled the number of “extremely sexual” Skype screenshots jurors would be allowed to see as attorneys for the defense argued that they could unfairly prejudice the jury.
The prostitution business generated $150,000 between October of 2010 and February of 2012, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed in York County Superior Court on March 19. Strong took in 20 percent of the proceeds, prosecutors wrote.
The parties and attorneys in the case were barred by Mills from talking to the media for much of the case, an order Strong’s counsel Daniel Lilley protested in a motion to reconsider last month.
Related:
- Zumba trial: How much porn should jurors watch?
- Accused Zumba pimp trial begins in disorder
- Accused Zumba pimp: It wasn't 'love' with dance instructor
This story was originally published on Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:20 AM EDT
Leave a Comment:
Where are the victims these prosecutors represent?
Oh that's right, THERE ARE NONE.
Agreed. probably worried about cutting in on the courthouse action. and they weren't getting their cut.
Guys doing this have less time to commit real crimes = less money from fines. Cant have that.
Seriously, when are the "Johns" going to be charged and tried? Too many men in positions of power on her list? I'd bet a million dollars that's the problem.
I was looking at something on one of the channels about the legalized prostitution in Nevada, where one of the girls said, "even the sheriff is a client!" LOL!!!
I'm the victim. She gave me the gift that keeps on giving.
Your argument for 'victimless' goes out the window once they started recording.
You can bank that if the girl is convicted of the prostitution part she will get way more than 20 days.
just low long must we accept religion insearting it's self into our personal lives
@StMiller
You can also bank that if she is convicted of the prostitution, somehow that john's list will be leaked out in full. Which it should be, fair is fair, or so it is said.
It will be interesting times ahead. I would think there maybe some nervous people in that area, wondering if or when the shoe will drop on them. If it were me, I would have my attorney subpoena every john as a witness for my defense.
Making them appear in court would cause quite a stir, I would think. And it could possibly get all the charges dropped. It's worth a try.
I'm really confused. How is it that this (having sex for money) is different than the porn industry (having sex for money)? Are the people in this story at fault for having video taped a session and not giving the film bad dialogue and cheesy music? I'm really confused.
If I were her I would certainly be using suggestions and hints that I was calling every John as a witness too. I would try and make the trial as slow, costly, and embarrassing as I could to encourage the prosecution to offer as sweet a plea deal as possible. Also, I would be ranting that society punishes the pimp way less than the prostitute. Ridiculous.
Sick. Almost as sick as 'backroom deal' that got this wastrel's sentence reduced.
Why is any of this reported activity considered criminal?
Another interesting point here, it appears while they made a lot of money doing this, taxes were actually filed and paid. Otherwise, I would think they would also be facing tax evasion charges. So, you shut down this one prostitue who was doing this of her free will, and appears to be actually paying taxes. How much lost tax revenue is the town, state, and feds going to lose now?
The US needs to stop the witch hunt for sexual activity.
Hummmmm ~~~ Was it Worth It? What purpose did this trial serve?
Did the prosecutors "persecution" of the individuals involved; and the penalty extracted, outweigh the harm done to the lives of everyone involved, and offset the hundreds of thousands of dollars it cost the community in tax dollars for this trial?
Sometimes "victory" at any cost .... isn't worth it!
Not only was I surprised at how little time he was given, but the fine was only 10% of what he apparently earned from the "crime." This was truly a slap on the wrist.
Protestant sharia law.
I went to that studio, their motto was "The customer always comes first".
hahahahahaha good one William
"Liquor in the front, poker in the rear!"
No wonder you wear a mask. Butt lick..........
He should not be sentanced if you cannot convict all the polititians and high society snobs who also got their wee wee wet. Free him and give in free lap dances for a year.
Well what else is someone suppose to do in Maine? You can't hike and ski all day every day, and happy hour is too short.
christians again screwing us. How much did it cost the town to prosecute this man with a max sentence of 1 year?
Christians? Where'd you get that Bk? It's feminists who claim it's slavery. They want laws out of a woman's private parts when it comes to removing a dead baby but suddenly they get all ethical should a woman choose to use her private parts for income. Check with NOW not Jesus.
I Love Maine what better place to catch Lobster's and of course ....Crabs.......?
Good one!!!
If he was a person of color he would have received a prison term of over three years, but because he was a white man he gets a slap on the hand where is the justice in America?
Reggie, this is why you personally will never be equal. Your kind is the most racist with no ability to look in the mirror. You will always be a slave to your poor thinking.
@reginald, there was no need for you to say that. Especially not in this case.
Actually, the worst kind are those, probably like you, who live in denial, such as, there's no racism in America.
Bigot!!!
Nothin like a poor black man to sing the blues when a verdict is actually right. And guess what? He did not even need Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson............
damyou.....stop lying. Seriously exaggerations are so obvious. Reggie didn't have to bring that up but if you compared the same crime between a black and white guy then compared the sentences...it's obvious.
A black guy would not have been caught in the first place, they are always the best Pimps.
legalize prostitution, and tax it like any other service, what a waste of time and money. all men know that p---y always cost money. dinner, drinks, bills etc ain't free, if you want the honey it going to cost you money.
It never made sense to me that what you could do for free you could not do for money. Is that freedom?
That's what happens when laws are based on religious morality and not reason and common sense.
Murder is against the law on moral grounds only. You can also do it for free or for money.
not so bob as having sex is a fun thing for both parties but murder ends one of the parties life
Yeah, murder doesn't have a happy ending. But I have sex with my wife all the time. Now, if she charged me for it, it would be a crime somehow?
Laws against murder do not rely solely on moral arguments. They rely on the basic principle that one person's rights end where another's begins, ergo if you murder someone you have taken away their rights. Mix in the obvious morality argument and you have a no-brainer.
You could argue that there are reasonable public safety concerns for why prostitution is illegal, but it seems those could all be managed if legalized.
@ bob-2476682
Bob, the point is that in some cases sex it legal, but murder in no case is legal. Well, except when done by the state. You can kill for free or for money, but it won't be legal in either case. You can have sex with someone for free and it's legal, but once money is involved it's criminal.
“Religion is what keeps the poor man from murdering the
rich” Napoleon Bonaparte
I just answered two statements on money and morals. Breaking the law is allowed depending on who you are and who you got on video.
what a terrible argument bob. Murder and prostitution are no where near related. There's generally no CONSENT when it comes to murder. With sex in this case? Everyone agreed and accepted the deal and no one got hurt. They just don't like you making money with taxes.
Not making an argument only stirring the pot. These two were taping influential customers for blackmail who did not press charges, no case. This had been in the news almost a year now.
I must have missed something. I never heard of an attempts to blackmail the people that were taped.
I bet there was some sort of a deal cut under the table to protect the names of local political officials whose names were on the 'John list' at the zumba parlor. Maybe those names could be released covertly and the prison sentence could be nullified.
Why did they even go through all of this mess just to give the man 20 days in jail?! What a waste of time and money.
The $3000 fine is a joke. Should have charged him the cost of the trial.
The taxpayers of Maine have been hosed.
mpa...I agree teh taxpayers of Maine have been hosed. Additionally, as my post said above, it appears both the "dance instructor" and this guy paid the taxes on the income they made since they were also not charged with tax evasion. IRS laws clearly state you still much claim income from illegal sources and pay taxes on it as ordinary income. So, not only do the tax payers of Maine end up footing the bill for these trials, they will also lose some tax revenue, was will the feds and possibly the local municipality as well.
He'll be OK. After the locals all spill millions in hush money to him. He's taking a 20-day bullet for all of the Johns in return for cash. I work for a company with a large presence in that small town. Likely there's quite a few people I know who were taking dancing lessons.
Wow. How much money did the the state spend on this prosecution for 20 days in jail? How many hours of porn did police officers have to watch, and then show to the jury? How many days did this trial run?
A waste of resources.
The cops I know would have watched those tapes numerous times, for fun, but than they would have said, job related and charge overtime.
And you have to add in the cost of all those warm towels for the watchers ......
pimp en pays off
A white pimp? They don't exist. Somewhere down the line a man of color came up with the idea. White guys just don't have the ambition to turn out dancers. With name like Zumba I've got to be right!
Oh boy, how we waste tax payers money!! All this hoopla for 20 days of jail time. This is a perfect example of your government at work at any level. This was much to do about nothing!!!!
Americans have the nerve to call other countries corrupt.
What a joke. Put me on that jury and i'll set her free so fast - and i'll see to it the John's are made an example of. Women everywhere should be rioting right now.
Someone in a previous post had asked who the victims were. The victims are the State and local governments. They are miffed because they didn’t get their cut. This is how they collect their pound of flesh.
If it was about getting their cut, why are these two charged with tax evasion? I could be wrong, but it seems since this was not a charge levied, both may have claimed the income and paid the applicable taxes on it, at least from an income standpoint, so the city, state, and feds may have actually got their cut afterall.
The reason prostitution is illegal is simple, MONEY. Us women are sitting on a gold mine, and the old boys don't think we should be able to sell part of the gold. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
While sexual slavery should be illegal and exterminated, obviously, run-of-the-mill prostitution should not be illegal; there really are no victims when all the participants are consenting adults. That's not to say that I approve of prostitution, but I am more sick of Big Brother government.
Amen.
Here Here!!
$150,000 in 18 months is not a lot of money. Either they were charging low rates or not doing it very much.
People are moved to do a mea culpa, not because of what they did, but that they got caught doing what they did!