Businessman Mark Strong has been found guilty of promoting a prostitution ring out of a Zumba dance studio in Maine. INSIDE EDITION reports.
Emotions ran high in court as the Zumba sex scandal case exploded back into the spotlight.
Mark Strong was just found guilty of promoting prostitution at a Zumba studio in the quaint New England town of Kennebunk, Maine.
His alleged partner in the bawdy business was beautiful Zumba instructor Alexis Wright, who was also his lover.
Surprisingly, at Strong's sentencing Thursday, his wife walked to the podium hand in hand with their son and voiced her support for her husband.
"Your honor, I plead with you, to go easy on my husband," she said.
Prosecutors claimed the insurance agent was the brains behind the hooker business that he and 30-year-old Wright allegedly ran out of the Kennebunk Zumba studio.
Wright has pled not guilty, but is said to be trying to work out a plea deal with prosecutors.
Strong and Wright were more than just business partners, he told the TV show Nightline.
"We did have intimate moments. But, it's not what I would consider romantic," he said.
The Zumba scandal has shocked ritzy Kennebunk, a town close to the summer home of the Bush family.
The 57-year-old defendant shed tears as he addressed the judge.
He said, "I caused so much hurt in so many ways. Emotionally, physically and financially."
"He got himself in-over his head with a young woman. He started with lost love or infatuation. And unfortunately it got into areas that were unsavory," Strong's defense attorney Daniel Lilley said.
He was sentenced to 20 days in jail and fined $3,000.
If Alexis Wright doesn't work out a plea deal, she's due to stand trial on 106 counts of prostitution and other charges in May.
Prosecuters say Alexis Wright brought in more than $150,000 worth of prostitution business during her time working with Strong.
