Actress Zara Phythian sentenced to 8 years of prison for child sex offences

Doctor Strange actress Zara Phythian is sentenced to eight years of jail after she and her Taekwondo master-husband sexually abused a 13-year-old girl. Reportedly, Zara and her husband Victor Marke were found guilty of 14 counts of sexual assault against the girl. In addition to the same, Marke was found guilty of another four counts of indecent assault against another girl from 2002 to 2003, when she was 15. Marke, who was also found guilty, was handed a 14-year sentence at Nottingham Crown Court as Judge Mark Watson said Marke was a 'driving force behind the abuse.' 

The judge told Marke "I regard you as the driving force behind the abuse. You were clearly aware of the first incident but pretended to be asleep. This could only have been a ruse agreed in advance. "BBC News quoted the judge Mark Watson as telling Phythian during the judgement, “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.” The judge also said that Marke was the “driving force behind the abuse”. The victim also claimed that the couple used to play a game of ‘dare’ with her, reported Nottinghamshire Post. Phythian played the role of Brunette Zealot in Doctor Strange, which had actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. She also starred in Accident Man 2 (2022) and Tribal Get Out Alive (2020).