Maine court releases names of 21 ‘johns’ in Kennebunk Zumba prostitution case

Police have released the names of 21 "johns" charged in a high-profile prostitution case in Portland, Maine involving former Zumba instructor Alexis Wright.

Wright, 29, was charged with turning her Kennebunk dance studio into a brothel and secretly videotaping her encounters.

The Boston Herald cited police as saying she was working with Mark Strong, 57, of Thomaston, who allegedly researched potential clients and helped set up video equipment to record the sexual encounters.

Both have pleaded not guilty to a combined 160 charges.

The naming of as many as 100 recipients of Wright's alleged services had stoked curiosity and concern of New Englanders in the small seaside town, the Associated Press wrote.

The case has also drawn the attention of the national media, as nearby Kennebunkport is the summer home of former US President George H. W. Bush.

More from GlobalPost: Kennebunk, Maine, awaits naming of johns in Zumba prostitution case

Justice Thomas Warren on Monday denied a motion seeking to prevent release of the names of alleged customers of Wright. 

The Boston Herald named them as:

Gary Bahlkow, Jens Bergen, Norman Crepeau, Joseph Cuetara, Kenneth Fairbanks, Donald Hill, Monie Hobbs, David Kline, Robert Labonte, Dale Madore, Paul Main, Harry McMann, Kevin Pagliccia, Claude Palmer, Philip Parker, Colin Powers, Clinton Ray, James Soule, John Verreault, James White and Peter Wormell.

According to The Herald, “two men who had claimed they would be harmed by the release of the so-called client list had asked three different courts to block release of the names to no avail.” 

According to CNN, the attorney of one man, "John Doe 1," had argued that releasing his identity would destroy several families and careers of otherwise "good men".