Police on Friday cleared the ousted chairman of Florida’s Republican Party of rape charges but said they have asked prosecutors to charge him with illegally filming the sexual encounter he had with a female acquaintance.
Sarasota police said in a statement that a review of cellphone video Christian Ziegler took of the Oct. 2 encounter showed it was “likely consensual,” making it impossible to charge him with rape. However, police said the woman told investigators she never consented to the videotaping and was unaware it had taken place.
Police turned their findings over to the office of Sarasota County State’s Attorney Ed Brodsky on Friday, recommending that Ziegler be charged with video voyeurism. Under Florida law, that is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Brodsky told The Associated Press that his prosecutors will immediately begin an investigation into the evidence and the recommendation. He said they will also review the decision not to charge Ziegler with rape or sexual assault.
“We want to be thorough,” said Brodsky, an elected Republican.
Derek Byrd, Ziegler’s attorney, said in a statement that “we have been confident from day one that Mr. Ziegler would be exonerated of these baseless allegations.”
“He has been completely honest and forthright and has fully cooperated with law enforcement at every stage of this investigation,” Byrd said. “While we are disappointed that the Sarasota Police Department has ‘pointed’ the decision on the remainder of the case to the District Attorney’s Office, we are confident that the District Attorney’s Office will not prosecute Mr. Ziegler for any crime.”
Ziegler, 40, previously admitted to having sex with the woman but insisted it was consensual and accused political opponents of sensationalizing the case. Court records show his wife, Bridget Ziegler, told investigators the three had sex once more than a year ago. Police said Bridget Ziegler withdrew from the planned meeting, but her husband went to the accuser’s apartment alone.
Bridget Ziegler is a prominent conservative who co-founded the organization Moms for Liberty and is also an elected member of the Sarasota County school board. She was also appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to the board that now oversees Walt Disney World’s land development. DeSantis pushed legislation last year to dissolve a Disney-controlled board after the company opposed his bill limiting sex education in schools.
The Republican Party of Florida ousted Ziegler earlier this month as police investigated the rape allegation against him. The party had suspended Ziegler last month and demanded his resignation, saying he could not lead effectively during a crucial election year with accusations swirling around him. DeSantis, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott and other Republican leaders had also called on Ziegler to resign.
It was not immediately clear what the rape investigation’s conclusion would mean for Ziegler’s future in the Republican Party. Evan Power, who served as vice chairman of the state GOP, has already been chosen to replace Ziegler.
Previously, Sarasota Police Detective Angela Cox said in search warrant affidavits that investigators were looking for emails, photos, videos, contacts and other information from Ziegler’s cellphone and Google account as part of their investigation into the woman’s accusation.
The woman told detectives that she and Ziegler have known each other for more than 20 years. She said she agreed to have sex with Ziegler and his wife on Oct. 2, but backed out after being told Ziegler’s wife “wasn’t going to make it.”
The woman said she left her apartment a while later to walk her dog and found Ziegler in the hallway. She says he pushed her inside and raped her, according to the affidavits. Investigators say security video from the apartment complex shows Ziegler entering and leaving the building.
The woman’s sister told Cox that the woman called her and told her she had been raped. The woman reported the rape two days later.
In late October, after Ziegler tried to contact the woman, police had her phone and text conversations with him monitored. According to the affidavits, he insisted they were friends and at one point suggested they meet in person.
“No, not after what you did to me. Do you understand that I’m terrified of you? she wrote to him.
He replied that he had to go.
In a telephone conversation, the woman told Ziegler that he had sexually assaulted her.
“Those are big words, please don’t, no, I didn’t do that,” he replied. “You invited me in.”
He offered her “financial help” before he became suspicious that their conversations were being recorded.
In a Nov. 2 interview with detectives in the presence of his attorney, Ziegler said the sex was consensual and that he recorded it. He said he subsequently deleted the video, but after the accusation he restored it and uploaded it to Google.