SARASOTA, Fla. — Sarasota Police are not recommending a sexual battery charge against former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Christian Ziegler to the state attorney's office. But his criminal case isn't over yet.
Police have been investigating Ziegler over a sexual encounter that happened on October 2, 2023. Police began investigating an alleged sexual battery that involved Ziegler and a woman who had a previous consensual sexual encounter with Christian and his wife, Bridget Ziegler.
Sarasota Police said detectives "conducted nearly one dozen interviews, issued numerous subpoenas, reviewed hours of surveillance footage, and searched through a substantial number of images and videos on cell phones and their respective cloud data backups."
According to Sarasota Police, the investigation found video evidence that a sexual encounter happened between the victim and Christian Ziegler. He recorded the encounter on his cell phone, but police said the sexual encounter was "likely consensual."
As a result, police said detectives "were unable to develop probable cause to charge Ziegler with Sexual Battery (sic)."
Police said after showing the video to the victim, she said she was not aware she was being recorded during the encounter and didn't consent to it. Sarasota PD detectives then prepared a probable cause affidavit for a felony charge of video voyeurism against Christian Ziegler.
The affidavit was sent to the State Attorney's Office for "further review."
Ziegler's attorney released a statement saying in part:
"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. It has been difficult to stay quiet knowing Mr. Zeigler was innocent, but we did so in order for law enforcement to conduct its due diligence."
ABC Action News' Katie LaGrone has reached out to Christian Ziegler for a comment on the latest action by police. His attorney, Derek Byrd, said his office is working on a response that will be sent out as soon as it's completed.
Ziegler's fall was quick as news of the initial investigation broke. Before he was ousted from the job as chairman, Governor Ron DeSantis, Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio all called for Ziegler to resign, which he refused.
Bridget Ziegler admitted to the consensual three-way encounter with the accuser, and in a 4-1 vote, the Sarasota School Board said she should resign from her position. Bridget, who helped found the conservative group Mom's for Liberty, has refused to step down.
Bridget was first appointed to Sarasota’s school board in 2014 by then-Governor Rick Scott. She is credited for helping to lay the groundwork for what critics would later dub Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The couple have been outspoken opponents of LGBTQ+ rights.
