Zara Phythian and Victor Marke are now behind bars after being convicted of sexually abusing a young girl between 2005 and 2008. Source: Zara Phythian (Instagram)
Actress and stuntwoman Zara Phythian (officially Marke) and her husband Victor have been found guilty and jailed over 14 counts of sexual activity with a child between 2005 and 2008.
Nottingham Crown Court heard that Marke had sex with the then 13-year-old girl approximately 20 times, whilst Phythian plied the young girl with rum and subjected her to threats and abuse “once or twice a month” over a three-year period.
The 38-year-old Phythian gained some public notoriety after she appeared in Marvel blockbuster Doctor Strange, and her husband Marke was a “respected” martial arts instructor.
She was duly sentenced to eight years in prison, whilst her husband received 14 years behind bars.
The couple performed sex acts on each other before asking the victim to do the same, after the girl regularly stayed at Marke’s home for martial arts training.
Phythian also threatened to “burn her stuff” when the complainant said she no longer wanted to see them again.
They were both found guilty of all 14 charges of sexual activity with a child.
Marke, 59, was also found guilty of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl by himself.
Judge Mark Watson called Marke the “driving force behind the abuse” of the 13-year-old, and sternly addressed Phythian when reading his summary judgment.
“Whilst you denied in cross-examination that you were besotted with Victor Marke, on the evidence I have heard I am in no doubt that your deviance was shaped by the influence that he had upon you from an early age,” he said.
Marke is originally from Nottinghamshire and was Phythian’s martial arts instructor before helping promote her career as a stuntwoman and actress.
They both pleaded not guilty to the offences, but were unanimously convicted by the jury and sentenced on Monday.
Marke received an extra four years for abusing the second girl on his own, and 10 years for the joint abuse with Phythian.
One of the victims read a statement to the court, saying that she had lost her innocence due to the nature of the offending, and that the couple had preyed on a “cheeky and socially awkward” 13-year-old girl to satisfy their abusive urges.
“You robbed me of my innocence, corrupted me … leaving me unable to create good and balanced relationships,” she said.
“I have become an adult now.
“All the pain, anger, disgust and shame I felt is now on you … both of you.”
