Florida police clear ousted GOP chair of rape but seek charges of video voyeurism

Police in Florida say they have asked prosecutors to charge former Republican Party chair Christian Ziegler with video voyeurism after determining that a sexual encounter he had with a female acquaintance was “likely consensual”.

The Sarasota Police Department said in a statement to The Independent that Mr Ziegler, 40, had been cleared of rape after a review of cellphone footage of the 2 October encounter, but that they would seek charges that he illegally recorded the sex act.

Video voyeurism is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison in Florida.

Mr Ziegler, a former close ally of Governor Ron DeSantis, was accused of committing sexual battery by a woman he and wife Bridget Ziegler, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, had been sexually involved with.

The woman told police that on the day of the incident she had arranged to have a three-way liaison with the married couple, but that Mr Ziegler had turned up to her apartment alone and allegedly forced himself on her.

In their statement, Sarasota police said that after a “lengthy investigation” they were unable to find probable cause to charge Mr Ziegler with sexual battery.

Christian Ziegler, 40, has been cleared of sexual battery but could still face charges of illegally recording a sexual encounter

When detectives showed the accuser a video recording of the sexual act, she informed them that she was unaware it had been taken and had not consented to be filmed, police said.

Police have sent the evidence to the State Attorney’s Office for further review.

Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler listens to public comments in December 2023, after her fellow school board members approved a resolution calling on her to resign

Mr Ziegler’s