Zara Phythian and Victor Marke.Photo: Tom Maddick/SWNS
Zara Phythian, who appeared in Marvel’s 2016 blockbusterDoctor Strange, and her husband have been accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
According to the outlet, a police interview with the woman was played at Nottingham Crown Court in the U.K., in which she alleged Marke and Phythian sexually abused her between the ages of 13 and 15, beginning in 2005.
“I knew it was wrong but I just didn’t know how to get out of the situation or say anything,” she said, per the BBC.
Reps for Phythian and Marke did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Zara Phythian and Victor Marke.Tom Maddick/SWNS
According to the outlet, the woman described looking up to Phythian, who was working as a martial-arts instructor in Nottinghamshire, U.K., at the time, as was Marke.
The woman alleged that Phythian and Marke gave her alcohol before Phythian dared her to perform oral sex on Marke, who reportedly was not yet married to Phythian but to another woman at the time.
“I remember trying to copy Zara’s reaction at the time because I looked up to her and tried to be like her,” the woman said, according to the BBC. Marke then had sex with both Phythian and the plaintiff, the latter alleged.
The woman told police that Marke told her no one “would believe” her and threatened to harm her if she said anything, adding of the couple, “They always had a power over me,” per the BBC.
Along with the charges brought against Phythian and Marke from this plaintiff, Marke faces four more from another woman alleging he sexually abused her from 2002 to 2003, starting when she was 15 years old.
According toThe Nottingham Post, the latter woman said Marke began having sex with her when she was 16. Phythian and Mark have reportedly denied all allegations from both plaintiffs.
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 toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
