Prosecutors decline video voyeurism charge against Christian Ziegler

Charges of video voyeurism related to a sexual encounter between Christian Ziegler and an unidentified woman related to an allegation of sexual assault were declined by the State Attorney’s Office.

On Wednesday, the office issued a statement that it could not determine whether a video the former Chairman of the Florida Republican Party made of the encounter on Oct. 2, 2023, was made without consent of his accuser. Ziegler was earlier cleared of the sexual assault charge when that same video recording indicated the encounter was consensual. 

Investigators with the Sarasota Police Department referred the video voyeurism case to the State Attorney’s Office after the accuser said she did not provide consent for the video to be made. During the investigation, the woman also told investigators she was in no position to give consent to sex with Ziegler because she had been “drinking tequila all day.”

As it turns out, that is perhaps the same reason the video voyeurism charges were not pursued.

In its conclusion, the office wrote, “The victim's expressed inability to recall whether she consented to recording the sexual activity along with her inconsistencies pertaining to key details of the event leave the State unable to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the video in question was filmed without her knowledge or consent. Accordingly, no charges will be filed.”

The video itself, the report reads, does not capture any explicit statements indicating the woman knew of, and consented to, the recording. It does show the phone was visible either in Ziegler’s hand or on the bed where the encounter occurred. Ziegler picked up the phone to end the recording while standing a few feet from the woman, who was laying on the bed when the recording ended. 

“The video did not appear to be taken from any hidden device or secretive angle that would tend to show that a phone recording a video was being hidden from the victim,” the report reads.

The woman’s unsubstantiated claim of sexual assault came following what was first planned as a threesome between the woman, Ziegler and Ziegler’s wife, Bridget. 

When only Christian Ziegler arrived, the woman said she called off the encounter, but Christian Ziegler forced his way into her apartment and sexually assaulted her. 

Security camera footage in the apartment hallway did not back up her claim, nor did the video of the encounter itself. In the meantime, the former Sarasota County Commissioner lost his position with the state GOP and Bridget Ziegler has faced pressure to resign from the Sarasota County School Board.

The report reads that law enforcement has been unable to recover any “vanish mode” Instagram messages between the two, and that even if they were recoverable within 30 days, they are wiped from the servers afterward. 

“That would mean this potential evidence was already gone around the time of the defendant's first interview on Nov. 2, 2023,” the report reads. “In another interview on Dec. 1, 2023, the defendant added that he asked the victim before hitting record and she said yes to the recording.”

In a statement released by Ziegler’s attorney, Derek Byrd wrote, “Mr. Ziegler is relieved to finally be completely cleared of the false allegations and any criminal wrongdoing. We cooperated at every stage of the investigation, and as difficult as it was, we remained quiet out of respect for the investigation. On day one, we said that Mr. Ziegler was completely innocent and we asked everyone not to rush to judgement, and instead to presume Mr. Ziegler innocent as the Constitution instructs. Unfortunately, many did not award that courtesy to Mr. Ziegler, damaging his family, career and reputation throughout this process.”