Doctor Strange star Zara Phythian hubby told cops: “I’m not a paedo” after pair sexually abused teen’
THE husband of Hollywood actress told police "I'm not a paedophile" after they were accused of sexually abusing a teen girl, a court heard.
Zara Marke, who starred with Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange, and husband Victor allegedly abused the girl "once or twice a month".
The couple plied the teen with rum in a three-year reign of terror with Zara, 36, threatening her to keep quiet, it is said.
Martial arts and Taekwondo "master" Victor, 59, allegedly had sex with the complainant about 20 times on different occasions.
The pair both deny 14 counts of sexual activity, while Victor faces four further charges of indecent assault against a second teen.
Nottingham Crown Court was told Victor branded the allegations "paedophile s**t" when quizzed by officers after his arrest.
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He said: "I do not want to say anything bad about her (the alleged victim) because I am really angry.
“I know I play it close to the border with banter. I always have done. I chat like I am 18 myself.
“But if you are trying to say I am a paedophile, I am not.
“I am fully aware of the rights and wrongs, if that is what you are trying to say.”
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Police then told him his electronic devices had been seized and Victor was asked if there was "anything on them that will get you in trouble"
He replied: "Porn. Legal porn. No child stuff if that is what you are trying to suggest.
“There might be some personal sex between me and the missus, stuff we like.
“You are allowed to film yourself, aren’t you? It’s not illegal.”
He went on to explain he and Zara, who was 19 when they got together, filmed their sex life with a Go Pro camera and were into swinging.
'DARES'
The court was told the teen would regularly stay with the pair at their home when the abuse started.
She told police how she was given rum before being asked by Zara - also a martial arts expert - if she wanted to play "dares".
Jurors heard the actress, who uses the stage name Phythian, then began performing a sex act on her husband before asking the alleged victim to do the same.
The girl claimed he then "took it in turns" to have sex with them both.
She told officers the abuse continued until she turned 18 and included Victor asking her to record him and Zara, whose last name at the time was Phythian, together.
The complainant said he also filmed the abuse and believed it was an attempt to re-create the pornography the couple watched.
'DIE WITH MY SHAME'
The alleged victim added: "I knew it was wrong, but I did not know how to get out of the situation, or say anything.
“I just did whatever they asked me to do. They made it seem like I was some naughty kid and they were helping me out.
“I just felt like there was no way out. They told me not to say anything.”
She also wept as she told jurors how finally revealed what she described as her "darkest secret".
Officers had visited her mum's home to say another girl had claimed she was abused by Victor.
The complainant said she "would never have come forward" and planned to "die with my shame".
But she had recently become a mum, and felt she had "no option to speak my truth", she said.
The court was told Victor used his position of trust to "satisfy his sexual urges" alongside his wife.
She was described as a "major personality" who was "enjoying unprecedented personal and professional success" after her role in Marvel film Doctor Strange.
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Zara would have been 20 or 21 around the time the alleged abuse started while Victor was 42 or 43.
The trial continues.
