Actor Zara Phythian, known for her work in the Hollywood film Doctor Strange, has been accused of sexually abusing a minor girl. A woman has accused Pythian and her husband Victor Marke of having sex with her over a period of a few years when she was 13 years old, over 15 years ago.  

The matter has reached court and the trial is underway. Phythian and Marke have dismissed the woman’s accusations against them.

Doctor Strange actress Zara Phythian and husband accused of sexual abuse of teenager

Zara Phythian, as per a report on Nottinghamshire Post, and her husband allegedly abused the then minor from 2005 to 2008. The woman, who is an adult now, has accused the couple of indulging her with alcohol and also claimed that they recorded some of their sexual encounters with the then minor.

The woman approached the police over the incidents. She told the officials that she knew ‘it was wrong’, but did not how to get out of the situation.

The woman also claimed that the couple would indulge in games like ‘truth or dare’ after which she’d be asked to perform a sexual act on Marke. 

The couple was martial arts instructors and the first meeting between the woman with them had taken place when she approached them regarding their profession. She also recalled copying Zara’s reaction at the time because she really looked up to her and aspired to be like her.  

Marke’s lawyer Francis McGrath, during the trial in court, accused the woman of making the allegations in December 2016, just when Phythian was at the ‘height of her success’ following Doctor Strange. The lawyer told the woman in court that she came to know of Pythian’s popularity through social media after the release of the superhero film.

Zara Phythian on the film front

Zara had enacted the role of one of the groups of zealots under Mads Mikkelsen’s character Kaecilius in the Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer Doctor Strange. The second installment of the superhero movie was gearing up for release next month. 

She has worked in numerous other films for over 15 years as an actor, stunt performer and even as a producer on films like Tribal Get Out Alive.