Police cleared the ousted chair of the Florida Republican Party of rape allegations on Friday, but said they have asked prosecutors to charge him with illegally video recording the sexual encounter he had with a female acquaintance.
The Sarasota Police Department said in a statement that a review of a cellphone video Christian Ziegler made of the Oct. 2 encounter showed that it was 鈥渓ikely consensual,鈥 making it impossible to charge him with rape. However, police said the woman told investigators that she never consented to be video recorded and was unaware it had occurred.
Police turned their findings over to the office of Sarasota County State Attorney Ed Brodsky on Friday, recommending that Ziegler be charged video voyeurism. Under Florida law, that is a third-degree felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Brodsky told The Associated Press that his prosecutors will begin an immediate examination of the evidence and recommendation. He said they will also review the decision not to charge Ziegler with rape or sexual assault.
鈥淲e want to be thorough,鈥 said Brodsky, an elected Republican.
Derek Byrd, Ziegler鈥檚 attorney, said in a statement that 鈥渟ince day one, we have been confident Mr. Ziegler would be exonerated from these baseless allegations.鈥
鈥淗e has been completely honest, forthright, and has been fully cooperative with law enforcement at every stage of this investigation,鈥 Byrd said. 鈥淲hile we are disappointed that the Sarasota Police Department 鈥榩unted鈥 the decision on the remaining portion of the case to the State Attorney鈥檚 office, we strongly believe that the State Attorney will not prosecute Mr. Ziegler for any crime.鈥
Ziegler, 40, previously admitted having sex with the woman but insisted it was consensual and blamed political opponents for sensationalizing the matter. Court records show that his wife, Bridget Ziegler, told detectives the three had engaged in sex once more than a year ago. Police said Bridget Ziegler backed out of the planned encounter but her husband went to the accuser鈥檚 apartment alone.
Bridget Ziegler is a prominent conservative who co-founded the organization and is also an elected member of the Sarasota County school board. She was also appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the DeSantis pushed through legislation last year disbanding a Disney-controlled board after the company opposed his bill that limits sex education in schools.
The Republican Party of Florida ousted Ziegler earlier this month as police against him. The party had and demanded his resignation, saying he couldn鈥檛 effectively lead during a critical election year with the allegations swirling around him. DeSantis, U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and , and other Republican leaders had also called on Ziegler to step down.
It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear what the conclusion of the rape investigation would mean for Ziegler鈥檚 future with the state Republican Party. Evan Power, who had been vice chair of the state GOP, has already been chosen to replace Ziegler.
Earlier, Sarasota Police Detective Angela Cox said in search warrant affidavits that investigators were seeking emails, photos, videos, contacts and other information from Ziegler鈥檚 cellphone and Google account as part of their investigation into the woman鈥檚 accusation.
The woman told detectives that she and Ziegler have known each other for more than 20 years. She said that on Oct. 2, she agreed to have sex with Ziegler and his wife but backed out after being told that Ziegler鈥檚 wife 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 make it.鈥
The woman said that a while later, she left her apartment to walk her dog and found Ziegler standing in the hallway. She says he pushed her inside and raped her, according to the affidavits. Investigators say the apartment complex鈥檚 security video shows Ziegler entering the building and leaving.
The woman鈥檚 sister told Cox that the woman called her and told her she was raped. The woman reported the rape two days later.
In late October, after Ziegler tried to contact the woman, police had her exchange monitored phone and text message conversations with him. According to the affidavits, he insisted they are friends and at one point suggested that they meet in person.
鈥淗ell no, not after what you did to me. Do you understand I am terrified of you?鈥 she wrote to him.
He replied that he had to go.
In a phone call, the woman told Ziegler that he had sexually assaulted her.
鈥淭hose are big words, please don鈥檛, no I didn鈥檛,鈥 he replied. 鈥淵ou invited me in.鈥
He offered her 鈥渇inancial help鈥 before becoming suspicious that their calls were being recorded.
In a Nov. 2 interview with detectives with his attorney present, Ziegler said the sex was consensual and that he had recorded it. He said he then deleted the video, but after the accusation he recovered it and uploaded it to Google.
