SPD concludes criminal investigation of Ziegler, turns case over to state

Sarasota police have referred a case involving Christian Ziegler and video voyeurism to the State Attorney’s Office, the Sarasota Police Department announced in a news release.

On Oct. 4, 2023, SPD detectives began an investigation into an alleged sexual battery that involved Ziegler and an alleged victim in a three-way tryst.

During the investigation, the detectives conducted nearly a dozen interviews, issued numerous subpoenas, reviewed hours of surveillance footage and searched through a substantial number of images and videos on cellphones and their respective cloud data backups.

Detectives discovered video evidence that on Oct. 2, a sexual encounter occurred between a complainant and Ziegler, who recorded the encounter on his cellphone. The video showed that the encounter was likely consensual and therefore detectives were unable to develop probable cause to charge Ziegler with sexual battery.

"I can confirm that the Sarasota Police Department has concluded its criminal investigation into Mr. Ziegler. After a very thorough investigation, law enforcement concluded that there is no probable cause, a very low standard, that Mr. Ziegler perpetrated a sexual assault on the accuser," said Derek Byrd, Ziegler's attorney, in a prepared statement. "It has been difficult to stay quiet knowing Mr. Ziegler was innocent, but we did so in order for law enforcement to conduct its due diligence. After a very thorough investigation, law enforcement concluded that there is no probable cause, a very low standard, that Mr. Ziegler perpetrated a sexual assault on the accuser."

While SPD conducted a follow-up interview with the woman and showed her the video recording of the sex act, the accuser advised detectives that she was unaware of it and did not consent to a video recording. However, she also told investigators that she was not in a position to consent because she told them she had been drinking tequila all day.

"At the beginning of the investigation, we asked and warned the public to withhold judgment of criminal wrongdoing until a thorough investigation of the facts was complete," Byrd said. "Sadly, many people and media outlets refused to give Mr. Ziegler that courtesy. That was unfair and unfortunate and has caused irreparable harm to Mr. Ziegler's reputation, his personal life, professional life and his family."

On Friday, investigators prepared a probable cause affidavit for the felony crime of video voyeurism against Ziegler. The affidavit was subsequently sent to the State Attorney’s Office for further review.

"While we are disappointed that the Sarasota Police Department 'punted' the decision on the remaining portion of the case to the State Attorney's office, we strongly believe that the State Attorney will not prosecute Mr. Ziegler for any crime," Byrd said. "We will allow the state to conduct its investigation with full cooperation from Mr. Ziegler. We will also not comment on the ongoing investigation until it is completed."

Last week, the Florida GOP removed Ziegler as chairman of the state party.