Doctor Strange actress Zara Phythian has been sentenced to eight years behind bars for several sex attacks on a teenage girl which started when the victim was just 13-years-old.
Last week, Phythian and her husband Victor Marke were found guilty of 14 counts of sexual activity with a child. Together, they groomed and abused the victim between 2005 and 2008. Marke, who was also found guilty of indecently assaulting a second person, was given a 14-year sentence at Nottingham Crown Court, as per The Independent.
According to the judge, Marke was the “driving force behind the abuse.” “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,” Judge Mark Watson told Phythian. “I cannot ignore that it started at a time when you were still young.”
The judge added: “Having said that, none of this excuses what you did – these were choices you made. You were by then successful in your own right. You chose to play your part.” Phythian and Marke were informed that they will have to serve at least half their sentences before parole is an option.
During her trial, Phythian denied ever being a peadophile. Jurors listened to details of the abuse of the pair’s victim, which supposedly began when the actress asked the victim “Do you want to play dare?”, and subsequently invited her to copy a sex act she had performed on Marke.
Phythian pursued a film career in Hollywood, her peaking in 2016 when she landed the minor role of “brunette zealot” in Doctor Strange. She also had several roles in action B-movies, including 2019’s Street Blood and Transit 17. Phythian also told the court that she runs a production company, has a sports clothing brand, and ran a martial arts academy.
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