Zara Phythian case: Teen victim says actress 'saw vulnerability in me and preyed on that'
Martial arts expert Zara Phythian, 36, is on trial accused of 14 charges of sexual activity with a child with her spouse Victor Marke, 59. Phythian, who starred with Benedict Cumberbatch in the 2016 Marvel film 'Doctor Strange', allegedly plied the 13-year-old with rum in a three-year reign of terror. The couple vowed to burn their alleged victim's belongings, a court heard on Thursday, April 28. When the complainant said she no longer wanted to see the performer and husband Victor Marke, prosecutors claim Phythian said: "Don't come back, I'm burning your stuff".
The girl, who is now an adult, told police that the couple allegedly filmed most of the abuse in an attempt to recreate pornographic scenes. She claims Phythian and Marke plied her with alcohol and had sex with her between 2005 and 2008 when she was a minor. The assaults are said to have progressed to including full sexual intercourse, which happened "once or twice a month".
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In an earlier videotaped interview played to the jury that the alleged victim gave to police, she told how the Markes "preyed' upon her. She said "I thought that if I was to say anything, then my family would hate me. At that time I really hated my mum. I got stuck because I had this secret and I could not tell her. They saw the vulnerability in me and preyed on that, I never knew how to get out of that situation. I could not see a way out," she said. She finally told the defendants she would not be returning several years later. The alleged victim tearfully told the hearing how she finally revealed what she described as her "darkest secret". Nottingham Crown Court heard that alongside Phythian's acting career, the couple were sports coaches who "commanded admiration and respect within the martial arts world".
James Varley QC, defending Phythian, also said that the actress had been offered a role performing with Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity on their UK dance tour in 2010 - but was forced to turn it down because she was "defending a (martial arts) world title in India". He added: "By this stage, Phythian had become quite well known in the martial arts community. She had won two World Records for kicking stuff off people's heads, had done film stuff, and had won World Championships, and it was because of her fame in that community that she was invited to perform something martial-artsy in Diversity's Show. She is developing a media career".
Phythian's husband is also charged with four further allegations of indecent assault on another teenage girl between 2002 and 2003. He has denied all the allegations against him. The trial still continues.