Zara Phythian, 'Doctor Strange' Actress, Accused of Sexually Abusing Child

Zara Phythian, an actress with a small role in Doctor Strange, and her husband Victor Marke were accused of sexually abusing a young girl in the U.K. The young girl was between 13 and 15 when the alleged sexual offenses happened between 2005 and 2008. Marke, 59, and Phythian, 36, deny the allegations.

The girl, now an adult, told police Phythian and Marke filmed the alleged abuse to recreate pornographic scenes, reports BBC News. Jurors at Nottingham Crown Court watched the woman's police interview, in which she claimed the couple gave her alcohol to drink. Phythian allegedly dared her to give Marke oral sex. Marke allegedly had sex with both of them, the woman said. The woman said she looked up to Marke and Phythian, who are martial arts instructors.

"I knew it was wrong, but I just didn't know how to get out of the situation or say anything," the woman told the police. "I remember trying to copy Zara's reaction at the time because I looked up to her and tried to be like her in every way."

The woman accused Marke of threatening to break her knees if she told the police. "He just said nobody would believe me if I told them anyway," the woman said. "They always had a power over me."

On Thursday, the woman took the stand. "At that point in time I had just become a mum and had no other option than to speak my truth and never allow it to happen to anyone else again," she told the jury when explaining why she came forward now, reports the Nottingham Post. She later said she could "never have made a report" and "would have died with my shame." She called it her "deepest, darkest secret... I envisaged, if I'd tell anybody, my family will hate me."

Phythian and Marke face 14 charges of sexual activity with a child. Marke is also accused of four charges of indecently assaulting a child, which is connected to another woman who came forward to the police. The second woman was 15 when Marke allegedly abused her between 2002 and 2003. Marke was married to another woman. That marriage fell apart when Marke began an affair with Pynthian, who was a teenager when the affair started.

Phythian had a small role in Doctor Strange as Brunette Zealot. She does not appear in the upcoming sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She also performed stunts in several movies and television shows. Her other credits include The Hike, Dragon Kingdom, Landlord: Time to Pay the Rent, and He Who Dares.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.