Zumba madam tearfully talks of childhood abuse in Maine sentencing
 

ALFRED, Maine (Reuters) - A Zumba instructor who admitted to using her exercise studio as a front for a prostitution business tearfully described a history of abuse before being sentenced to 10 months in county jail on Friday.
The instructor, 30-year-old Alexis Wright, and her 57-year-old conspirator Mark Strong, had recorded Wright's sessions with clients and maintained a list of about 150 local men -- disclosures that shocked the seaside town of Kennebunk, Maine, where Wright operated.

"I've spent my entire life hiding the abuse and bad experiences that I have had," Wright said in the historic courthouse, where the words "fidelity," "decorum" and "virtue" were carved above the windows.

"I'm a person who knows the difference between right and wrong and because of this reason I chose to take the time in jail and take responsibility for my actions," said Wright, sobbing into a tissue given her attorney by a court employee. "Those actions were not taken because I wanted to do it. I did not feel like I was in a position to choose."



Zumba madam tearfully talks of childhood abuse in Maine sentencing