‘Doctor Strange’ actress, husband found guilty of more than a dozen sex abuse charges
A Marvel actress was convicted of multiple sex abuse charges alongside her martial artist husband in British court.
Zara Phythian, 38, who was tried under the name of Zara Marke, was found guilty of 14 sexual offences Tuesday, including multiple counts of sexual activity with an underage victim beginning when she was 13, according to a document provided to EW by the Nottingham Crown Court clerk.
Her 59-year-old husband, Victor Marke, was convicted of 18 counts.
Judge Mark Watson set their sentencing date for Monday and warned the punishment “is likely to be measured by a considerable period of custody.”
The couple’s shared charges are related to the ongoing sexual abuse of a child, which occurred between December 2005 and December 2008.
In an interview with authorities, the victim said the couple plied her with alcohol and then convinced her to perform oral sex on Marke. She she said she also engaged in threesomes with the couple.
Marke was also found guilty of four counts of indecently assaulting another female child on his own, BBC News reported. While he claimed he believed she was 18, the victim was actually just 15 years old when he abused her between 2002 and 2003.
“This abuse may have occurred some years ago, but that makes it no less serious and nor is it a barrier to justice,” Hepburn said.
“I would encourage anyone who has been abused in the past to come forward with the knowledge that the CPS will take your case seriously.”
Phythian, who is also a successful stuntwoman and martial artist, boasts dozens of credits on IMDb, but is best known for an appearance in 2016′s “Doctor Strange,” which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character. She does not appear in the recent sequel.
