2012 Year In Review: Sex crimes in the news

Zumba instructor Alexis Wright was charged on Oct. 9, 2012 with 106 counts of prostitution, invasion of privacy, tax evasion and other charges after being accused of running a prostitution business out of her dance studio - and secretly videotaping her encounters - in a southern Maine town. Wright has pleaded not guilty to the charges and Kennebunk police have gradually released the names on her alleged list of more than 100 clients. Her accused business partner, Mark Strong, has also pleaded not guilty to 59 counts of promotion of prostitution and violation of privacy.

AP Photo/Centre County Correctional Facility

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced on Oct. 9, 2012 to at least 30 years in prison after being convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse for molesting boys over a 15-year period. The scandal surrounding his indictment toppling longtime head coach Joe Paterno and eventually led to severe NCAA sanctions against the football team. Witnesses accused him of violent sexual attacks inside campus facilities, as well as using the charity for troubled children he founded to find and groom boys that become his victims.

Former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones pleaded guilty on Oct. 8, 2012, to sexual misconduct and custodial interference after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student while she was a teacher at Dixie Heights High School in northern Kentucky. Jones said she had sex with the boy, sent him sexually explicit text messages and lied about the relationship to the police. Her mother, Cheryl Jones, also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of tampering with evidence. Both women avoid jail time as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Longtime Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash resigned from "Sesame Street" on Nov. 20, 2012, amid allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy. Clash denied the allegations, which were first made in June 2012 by the accuser, who is now 23 years old. Sesame Workshop called the controversy surrounding Clash's personal life "a distraction that none of us want," leading Clash to conclude "that he can no longer be effective in his job." Since the scandal began, three more accusers have come forward, with the latest accuser filing a lawsuit on Dec. 10, 2012 alleging that he had a sexual relationship with Clash in 1995 when the victim was 16 years old.

Anna Gristina, the so-called

Accused "Hot Dog Hooker" Catherine Scalia pleaded guilty to misdemeanor prostitution on May 8, 2012 after authorities said she offered to engage in sexual conduct at her home with an undercover detective after selling him two hot dogs from her truck. She denied selling sex to the police officer, saying he got a lap dance before police arrived at the scene and arrested her. Despite her guilty plea, Scalia denied engaging in prostitution, saying instead that she is a "hot dog stripper" and just shows cleavage and does a lap dance for $100. She was sentenced to seven days in jail.

Courtney Sue Reschke appeared in court on Dec. 3, 2012, on two counts each of felony injury to a child and felony lewd conduct for allegedly providing alcohol to and having sexual contact with four 15-year-old boys. Prosecutors alleged that Reschke had several sexual encounters with friends of her oldest child at her Idaho home since the start of the school year. A district judge ordered Reschke's bond conditions to include no contact with anyone under the age of 18, including her children. She was jailed on $250,000 bail.

Former Texas teacher Brittni Colleps was found guilty on 16 criminal counts on Aug. 17, 2012 stemming from charges of having an inappropriate relationship with a student. Prosecutors alleged Colleps had sex with five 18-year-old male students at her home. Although the victims were 18 at the time, it is a crime in Texas for a teacher to have a sexual relationship with a student. Jurors heard graphic testimony from the involved students during the trial, and were shown cellphone video of one sexual encounter involving multiple students.