Alexis Wright and the Zumba Prostitution Scandal

Alexis Wright hadn't been in the small quiet town of Kennebunk, Maine, long before its inhabitants began to grasp that she wasn't only a Zumba dance teacher.

Wright, 29, from Wells, US, arrived in Kennebunk in 2009, according to Laura Dolce, the editor of local newspaper York County Coast Star.

"She was this wonderful young single mom that was introducing this Zumba [a Colombian fitness regime that mixes Latin music, aerobics and dance developed in the 90s'] into town," Dolce told CBS.

"Pretty soon people started talking that there was pretty more going on there."

Interviewed by the local paper that year, Wright described herself as a full-time student, single mom and dance instructor.

In 2010 Wright opened the Pura Vida Studio fitness studio next to the central business district of the seaside town, which is home to around 10,000 people.

She also rented a little office just across the street above a hair salon and a flower store.

However, her Zumba lessons seemed to become much too popular and at unusual times of the day, and people started talking.

According to an affidavit filed by a local police officer, employees at the pizzeria next door to the studio, reported seeing cars stopping by at all hours of day and night with different men entering the building to leave just 30 minutes or an hour later.

The tenant living next to her office once complained to the landlord for hearing "a lot of moaning and groaning" throughout the day, the affidavit said.

As the landlord went to check the office he found a massage table and a video camera on a tripod. The would-be detective would later recognise the scene in a porn video he found on the internet, featuring Wright.

Already in 2010, locals had seen several internet movies featuring a porn star closely resembling Wright, operating under different names such as Kikicu, Lexi, Lexilove, Zumba Whore and Maine Zumba Queen.

On a website promoting self-styled porn stars, a girl named Lexilove claimed to be a 28 years old, single mom and from Maine, attending medical school to become a doctor.

"Who knows, maybe I will be treating you someday! I enjoy working with people and feel that the human body is to be enjoyed visually and physically," was written on her profile, SeacoastOnline reported.

A few months after her arrival in Kennebunk, an anonymous blogger directly said Wright was "living a double life and is a porn star," and rumours about Wright's pornographic life began to surface in the local nespapers, Dolce said.

Photos of a woman appearing to be Wright in a teasing position had been circulating on the web since 2008 in various modelling websites, and are still available on the website Parademodels.

The pictures were shot by a photographer nicknamed MWStrong, who is believed to be Mark W. Strong Sr, the man police believe had a sexual relationship with Wright and helped her in her activities beyond the Zumba studio.

Strong invested in Wright's Zumba studio and loaned her money, his attorney said. However police believes he also looked for potential non-Zumba clients.

Wright and Strong have been indicted by a grand jury on more than 160 counts of prostitution and invasion of privacy, for allegedly secretly videotaping Wright's sex encounters. They pleaded not guilty.

Sex, Zumba and Videotape: Porn Star Prostitution Scandal Hits Small New England Town