• MSN
  • Hotmail
  • More
    • Autos
    • My MSN
    • Video
    • Careers & Jobs
    • Personals
    • Weather
    • Delish
    • Quotes
    • White Pages
    • Games
    • Real Estate
    • Wonderwall
    • Horoscopes
    • Shopping
    • Yellow Pages
    • Local Edition
    • Traffic
    • Feedback
    • Maps & Directions
    • Travel
    • Full MSN Index
  • Bing
  • NBCNews.com
  • TODAY
  • Nightly News
  • Rock Center
  • Meet the Press
  • Dateline
  • msnbc
  • Breaking News
  • Newsvine
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Travel
  • Local
  • Weather
Advertise | AdChoices
  • Recommended: Julian Assange says WikiLeaks helping Snowden gain asylum
  • Recommended: 'Extreme' Arizona wildfire burns 5,000 acres in just 7 hours
  • Recommended: Alleged 'alphabet murders' killer tells jury, 'I'm not the monster'
  • Recommended: 'Industry of mediocrity': Rookie teachers woefully unprepared, report says

NBC News reporters bring you compelling stories from across the nation. For more US news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

  • ↓ About this blog
  • ↓ Archives
    • Icons Email E-mail updates
    • Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter
    • Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS
  • 18
    Jan
    2013
    6:50pm, EST

    Zumba prostitution case heads to trial after plea deal fails

    Rich Beauchesne / Reuters file

    Alexis Wright 29, of Wells, Maine, is accused of running a prostitution business in Kennebunk.

    By Vignesh Ramachandran, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A closed-door plea deal failed Friday for a Maine man accused of working alongside a dance teacher in running a prostitution business from a Zumba studio.


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    A judge ruled Friday that Mark Strong Sr., 57, will face trial on Tuesday on charges related to the prostitution operation he is accused of running with dance teacher Alexis Wright in her Kennebunk, Maine, Zumba studio, Seacoastonline.com reported.

    Strong faces 59 counts of promotion of prostitution and invasion of privacy, while Wright faces 106 counts that also include tax-related charges, according to Seacoastonline.com. The two have pleaded not guilty.

    Earlier Friday, Strong's lawyers had met with prosecutors and a judge about a possible plea deal. Now that the deal failed, jury selection for the trial begins Tuesday in York County Superior Court in Alfred, Maine.


    The judge also ordered Strong's lawyer, Daniel Lilley, to stay on the case. Lilley asked to withdraw based on claims that his client can't afford to pay for a legal defense or to hire expert witnesses, The Associated Press reported.

    At least a third of the 200 people that authorities say paid to have sex with Wright have been identified publicly. The release of the names caused an uproar in and around Kennebunk, a city of 10,000 about 85 miles north of Boston.

    Wright is accused of using cameras, laptops and external hard drives to secretly record the encounters. A lawyer for Wright and a lawyer for Strong separately told NBC News earlier this month that there is no evidence to support claims of extortion.

    An official told Seacoastonline.com last month that Wright's case was on a trial list for May.

    NBC News correspondent Katy Tur contributed to this report.

    From the archives, October 2012:

    • Names' release in Zumba sex scandal puts innocent in spotlight
    • Maine town rocked by Zumba studio prostitution scandal

    37 comments

    Legalize & regulate. What people do with their own bodies is their own choice.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: crime, maine, sex-scandal, alexis-wright, mark-strong, zumba-prostitution-case

Browse

  • featured,
  • crime,
  • weather,
  • military,
  • updated,
  • california,
  • florida,
  • environment,
  • shooting,
  • us-news,
  • new-york,
  • texas,
  • education,
  • chicago,
  • police,
  • gulf-oil-spill,
  • los-angeles,
  • kari-huus,
  • murder,
  • nbcnewyork,
  • guns,
  • new-jersey,
  • afghanistan,
  • obama,
  • colorado,
  • trayvon-martin,
  • sandy,
  • nbclosangeles,
  • barack-obama,
  • crime-and-courts,
  • politics,
  • gay,
  • fire,
  • arizona,
  • george-zimmerman,
  • veterans,
  • connecticut,
  • crime-courts
Also
Advertise | AdChoices

Archives

  • 2013
    • June (265)
    • May (461)
    • April (608)
    • March (548)
    • February (510)
    • January (563)
  • 2012
    • December (457)
    • November (460)
    • October (477)
    • September (432)
    • August (525)
    • July (519)
    • June (508)
    • May (566)
    • April (538)
    • March (576)
    • February (471)
    • January (417)
  • 2011
    • December (455)
    • November (190)
    • October (9)
    • September (3)
    • August (51)
    • July (8)
    • June (3)
    • May (12)
    • April (5)
    • March (3)
    • February (1)
    • January (8)
  • 2010
    • December (5)
    • November (1)
    • October (2)
    • September (28)
    • August (40)
    • July (35)
    • June (177)
    • May (50)
    • April (9)
    • March (2)
    • February (2)
    • January (4)
  • 2009
    • December (5)
    • November (5)
    • October (2)
    • September (11)
    • August (4)
    • July (12)
    • June (1)
    • May (1)
    • April (1)
    • March (3)
    • February (3)
    • January (2)
  • 2008
    • December (3)
    • November (2)
    • October (6)
    • September (30)
    • August (26)
    • July (10)
    • June (4)
    • May (8)
    • April (13)
    • March (9)
    • February (7)
    • January (6)
  • 2007
    • December (10)
    • November (6)
    • October (22)
    • September (11)

Most Commented

  • Supreme Court strikes down Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote (3940)
  • Census: White majority in U.S. gone by 2043 (1937)
  • Indiana woman on death row since she was 16 to be released (1287)
  • Six months later, Newtown families grieve, push for stricter gun-control legislation (1284)
  • Obama proposes reductions to Cold War-era nuclear arsenal (1582)
  • Mom, three teen daughters shot in Nashville; gunman still at large (1121)
  • AP report: Commander in Nazi SS-led unit living in Minnesota (766)

Other blogs

  • Cosmic Log
  • Red Tape Chronicles
  • PhotoBlog
  • Open Channel

NBCNews.com top stories

3147,10
© 2013 NBCNews.com
  • US news on NBCNews.com
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Site map
  • Careers
  • Closed captioning
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertise