'Doctor Strange' Actress Zara Phythian Sentenced to 8 Years of Prison on Child Sex Charges

Zara Phythian in 2016.Photo: David M. Benett/Dave Benett /Getty Images

Zara Phythian, the martial arts stuntperson and actress who appeared in 2016’sDoctor Strange, has been sentenced to eight years of prison after beingfound guilty of sexually abusinga 15-year-old girl.

According to theNottingham Post,BBC Newsand U.K.‘sThe Times, the 37-year-old was sentenced in the U.K.’s Nottingham Crown Court on Monday, while her husband Victor Marke was sentenced to 14 years in prison, as Judge Mark Watson said Marke, 59, was a “driving force behind the abuse.”

Phythian was convicted on Wednesday of 14 charges of sexual activity with a child between 2005 and 2008, starting when the girl was 13 years old. In addition to the same 14 counts, Marke was found guilty of an additional four counts of indecent assault against another girl from 2002 to 2003, when she was 15.

According to theBBC, a police interview with the first victim was played last month at Nottingham Crown Court, in which she said, “I knew it was wrong, but I just didn’t know how to get out of the situation or say anything.”

Reps for Phythian and Marke did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. Phythian and Mark have reportedly denied all allegations from both plaintiffs before being found guilty.

The first victim described looking up to Phythian, who was working as a martial-arts instructor in Nottinghamshire at the time, as was Marke. She claimed Phythian and Marke gave her alcohol before Phythian dared her to perform oral sex on Marke, who reportedly was not yet married to Phythian but to another woman.

“I remember trying to copy Zara’s reaction at the time because I looked up to her and tried to be like her,” the woman said, according to BBC News. She said Marke then had sex with both Phythian and the victim.

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Victor Marke and Zara Phythian.Ioannis Alexopoulos/LNP/Shutterstock

The woman told police that Marke told her no one “would believe” her and threatened to harm her if she said anything, adding of the couple, “They always had a power over me,” BBC News reported.

According toThe Nottingham Post, the second victim said Marke began having sex with her when she was 16.

Dhillon added, “I hope this case serves as a reminder to others — that we treat all allegations of sexual abuse with the utmost seriousness and that, even in cases where offenses occurred many years ago, we will thoroughly investigate and we will do everything in our power to bring perpetrators to justice.”

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go towww.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

source: people.com