Doctor Strange, Actress Zara Phythian and Husband Found Guilty of All Child Sex Charges: Reports
Ioannis Alexopoulos/LNP/Shutterstock Victor Marke and Zara Phythian
Zara Phythian and her husband Victor Marke have been found guilty of having sex with a 13 year old girl — and, in Marke’s case, also sexually abused a 15-year-old girl.
Several points of sale, including the BBC and the Nottingham Postreport that Phythian, 37, was found guilty by the UK’s Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday of 14 counts of sexual activity with a child between 2005 and 2008, from when the girl was 13.
In addition to the same 14 counts, Marke, 59, was convicted of four other counts of indecent assault on another woman from 2002 to 2003, when she was 15.
According to BBCa police interview with the first victim took place last month at Nottingham Crown Court in the UK, in which she alleged that Marke and Phythian sexually assaulted her aged 13 to 15.
“I knew it was wrong, but I just didn’t know how to get out of the situation or say anything,” she told the BBC.
Representatives for Phythian and Marke did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the charges or convictions.
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Tom Maddick/SWNS Zara Phythian and Victor Marke
The first victim described admiring Phythian, who was working as a martial arts instructor in Nottinghamshire, UK, at the time, as did Marke.
She alleged that Phythian and Marke gave her alcohol before Phythian dared her to perform oral sex on Marke, who was allegedly not yet married to Phythian but to another woman at the time.
“I remember trying to copy Zara’s reaction back then because I looked up to her and tried to be like her,” the woman said, according to the BBC. She said Marke then had sex with Phythian and the complainant.
The woman told police Marke told her no one would ‘believe’ her and threatened to hurt her if she said anything, adding of the couple: ‘They always had power on me,” according to the BBC.
Tom Maddick/SWNS Zara Phythian and Victor Marke
In addition to the charges brought against Phythian and Marke by this plaintiff, Marke faced four more from another woman alleging he sexually assaulted her from 2002 to 2003, starting when she was 15 years old.
According to Nottingham Postthe latter woman said that Marke started having sex with her when she was 16. Phythian and Mark reportedly denied all allegations made by the two plaintiffs.
“I would like to thank the two victims who showed great courage in coming forward and speaking out about their ordeal,” lead investigator Parminder Dhillon said after the verdict. Nottingham Post reports. “While no sentence handed down by a court can undo the damage done to them throughout their lives, I hope they take some comfort in the fact that justice has now been served.”
Dhillon reportedly added: “I hope this case serves as a reminder to others – that we are all dealing with allegations of sexual abuse with the utmost seriousness and that, even in cases where offenses were committed many years ago, we will thoroughly investigate and do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in over 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected with a certified crisis counsellor.
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