Ousted Florida GOP Chair Cleared Of Rape Allegation, But Facing Other Charges

Police cleared the ousted chair of the Florida Republican Party of rape allegations on Friday, but said they have asked prosecutors to charge him with illegally video recording the sexual encounter he had with a female acquaintance.

The Sarasota Police Department said in a statement that a review of a cellphone video Christian Ziegler made of the Oct. 2 encounter showed that it was “likely consensual,” making it impossible to charge him with rape. However, police said the woman told investigators that she never consented to be video recorded and was unaware it had occurred.

Police said they asked the Sarasota County State Attorney’s Office on Friday to file video voyeurism charges against Ziegler, but that has not yet happened. Prosecutors did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Under Florida law, video voyeurism is a third-degree felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Derek Byrd, Ziegler’s attorney, said in a statement that “since day one, we have been confident Mr. Ziegler would be exonerated from these baseless allegations.”

“He has been completely honest, forthright, and has been fully cooperative with law enforcement at every stage of this investigation,” Byrd said. “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.”

Ziegler, 40, previously admitted having sex with the woman but insisted it was consensual and blamed political opponents for sensationalizing the matter. Court records show that his wife, Bridget Ziegler, told detectives the three had engaged in sex once more than a year ago.