Ioannis Alexopoulos/LNP/Shutterstock Victor Marke and Zara Phythian
Zara Phythian and her husband Victor Marke have been found guilty of having sex with a 13 year old girl – and, in Marke’s case, he also sexually abused a 15-year-old girl.
Multiple outlets, including the BBC and the Nottingham PostThey report that Phythian, 37, was convicted Wednesday at the UK’s Nottingham Crown Court of 14 counts of sexual activity with a girl between 2005 and 2008, beginning when the girl was 13.
In addition to the same 14 counts, Marke, 59, was convicted of four additional counts of indecent assault on another woman between 2002 and 2003, when she was 15 years old.
According to the BBCa police interview with the first victim was played last month at Nottingham Crown Court in the UK, in which she alleged Marke and Phythian sexually abused her when she was between 13 and 15 years old.
“I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t know how to get out of the situation or say anything,” he told the BBC.
Representatives for Phythian and Marke did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the charges or convictions.
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Tom Maddick/SWNS Zara Phythian and Victor Marke
The first victim described admiring Phythian, who at the time was working as a martial arts instructor in Nottinghamshire, UK, just like Marke.
She alleged that Phythian and Marke gave her alcohol before Phythian challenged her to perform oral sex on Marke, who was reportedly not yet married to Phythian but to another woman at the time.
“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 the BBC. She said that Marke then had sexual relations with both Phythian and the plaintiff.
The woman told police that Marke told her no one “would believe her” and threatened to hurt her if she said anything, adding of the couple: “They always had power over me,” according to the BBC.
Tom Maddick/SWNS Zara Phythian and Victor Marke
Along with the charges brought against Phythian and Marke by that plaintiff, Marke faced four more charges from another woman alleging that he sexually abused her between 2002 and 2003, when she was 15 years old.
According The Nottingham Postthe latter woman said that Marke began having sex with her when she was 16 years old. Phythian and Mark have reportedly denied all allegations by both plaintiffs.
“I want to thank the two victims who have shown great courage in coming forward and speaking out about their ordeal,” Investigating Officer Parminder Dhillon said after the verdict, Mr. Nottingham Post reports. “While no amount of punishment handed down by a court of law can undo the lifelong damage done to them, I hope they take some comfort in knowing that justice has now been served.”
Dhillon reportedly added: “I hope this case serves as a reminder to others that we treat everyone accusations of sexual abuse with the utmost seriousness and that, even in cases where the crimes occurred many years ago, we will thoroughly investigate and do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
If you suspect child abuse, call Childhelp’s National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 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 connect with a certified crisis counselor.
Reference-news.yahoo.com