Authorities not charging former Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler

SARASOTA, Fla. – Authorities will not file criminal charges against former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Christian Ziegler after an investigation into allegations of sexual battery and potential video voyeurism.

In January, police had already said Ziegler likely did not commit sexual battery, but forwarded an affidavit on Ziegler potentially committing video voyeurism, where one records another in a sexual form without their consent, especially when the victim has an expectation of privacy.

A memo obtained by Florida’s Voice from the State Attorney’s Office of the 12th Judicial Circuit states that law enforcement could not prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” Ziegler committed the alleged crimes.

It said that the victim could not recall “whether she consented to recording the sexual activity,” and it also pointed to “inconsistencies pertaining to key details of the event.”

In response to the news, Ziegler’s attorney told Florida’s Voice that Ziegler is “relieved to finally be completely cleared of the false allegations and any criminal wrongdoing.”

“We cooperated at every stage of investigation and as difficult as it was, we remained quiet out of respect for the investigation,” the attorney said. “On day one, we said that Mr. Ziegler was completely innocent. We asked everyone not to rush to judgement and reminded everyone 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.”

Ziegler had persistently said he is innocent and believed he would be exonerated.

Police previously said the investigation revealed the victim and Ziegler have known each other for 20 years and they agreed to have a sexual encounter that included Ziegler’s wife.

The encounter in question was alleged by the victim to be non-consensual, but police said a recording from Ziegler showed it was “likely consensual,” per authorities.

Therefore, detectives were “unable to develop probable cause to charge Ziegler with Sexual Battery.”

The victim then had claimed she was “unaware and did not consent to being video recorded,” authorities said.

As a result of the allegations and investigation, Ziegler lost his position as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida earlier this year.