ALFRED — Prosecutors in the case against Mark Strong Sr. were vindicated on Wednesday when, after five hours of deliberation, a jury found the Thomaston man guilty of 12 charges of promotion of prostitution, and one count of conspiracy to promote prostitution.
Strong was one of the principal players charged in connection with the headline-grabbing scandal involving a Kennebunk Zumba fitness studio, which the state argued was a front for a prostitution business that drew clients from Maine and points as far-flung as Arizona and Florida.
Jurors at York County Superior Court in Alfred found that Strong was actively involved in the illegal venture, keeping detailed ledgers of sexual acts between clients and studio owner Alexis Wright of Wells, who faces her own trial in May on charges involving prostitution and tax evasion.
In the end, it was a mountain of evidence that swayed the jury, including e-mails and text messages between Wright and Strong, as well as snapshots recovered from Strong’s computer hard drives depicting Wright having sex with “johns,” or patrons of prostitution.
Last week, jurors spent an uncomfortable 45 minutes watching a video in which Wright was seen having sex with a client, discussing monetary payment, and then calling Strong, who was watching live via Internet video, unbeknownst to the john. Earlier this year, 45 counts against Strong alleging invasion of privacy were dropped, with Justice Nancy Mills saying that people committing a crime should have no reasonable expectation of privacy.
On Wednesday, Strong seemed resigned to the jury’s decision.
“Really, I’m not surprised,” he said. “I’m just glad they dropped the other charges.”
Strong added that he appreciated the conduct of the media, which he said had been respectful toward him and his family.
Defense attorney Dan Lilley said he was “disappointed,” while defense attorney Tina Nadeau said, “There’s a lot of appealable issues. That’s all I have to say.”
Deputy District Attorney Justina McGettigan lauded the jury, citing “overwhelming evidence” pointing to a “lengthy conspiracy” that spanned from October 2010 to February 2012. That was when the Kennebunk Police Department and Maine State Police executed search warrants in a raid that confiscated computer materials and other documents at multiple locations, including Strong’s home, his Thomaston-based insurance agency, and two of Wright’s properties, the Pura Vida Studio and a nearby rental property that purported to offer nutrition counseling.
“We’re very pleased,” said McGettigan. “We appreciate (the jury’s) intention, and their consideration of the evidence.”
Addressing concerns about the resources that were used to conduct the investigation and prosecute Strong, McGettigan said that “taxpayers should be pleased ”¦ that they can feel safe in their community.
“In fact, it was a good use of resources,” she said.
McGettigan said the charge of promotion of prostitution, a Class D misdemeanor, can carry a maximum sentence of up to 364 days, plus a fine. Conspiracy to promote prostitution, a Class E misdemeanor, can constitute a sentence of up to six months, she said.
A sentencing hearing for Strong is scheduled at York County Superior Court on March 19.
Kennebunk Police Officer Audra Presby expressed her gratification at the trial’s outcome. Presby, who wrote an affidavit alleging Strong and Wright’s involvement in the prostitution business, was actively involved in the investigation and had her motives called into question by the defense during trial. Lilley had insinuated that Presby implicated Strong in the controversy as retaliation over an investigation that Strong, a licensed private investigator, had pursued regarding Presby’s conduct with a superior officer, who has since left the department of his own volition.
Presby described the guilty verdict as “true vindication.”
“Law enforcement doesn’t come out here to play games,” she said.
Kennebunk Police Chief Robert MacKenzie expressed praise for Presby’s conduct in the face of those allegations, adding that jurors made the right decision.
“It’s hard when you have personal attacks ”¦ but we stayed true to ourselves,” said MacKenzie. “We got justice.”
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319, or at jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
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