In response to an investigation initiated in October 2023, the Sarasota Police Department has forwarded a case involving Christian Ziegler to the State Attorney's Office.

On October 4th, 2023, detectives from the Sarasota Police Department began an investigation into an alleged sexual battery that involved Ziegler as the suspect. During the investigation, the 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.

As a result of the lengthy investigation, Sarasota Police detectives found video evidence that on October 2nd, 2023, a sexual encounter occurred between the victim and Christian Ziegler. Ziegler recorded the encounter on his cell phone. The video showed that the encounter was likely consensual. Therefore, detectives were unable to develop probable cause to charge Ziegler with Sexual Battery.

After conducting an additional follow-up interview with the victim and after showing the victim the video recording of the sex act, the victim advised Sarasota Police detectives that she was unaware and did not consent to being video recorded.

On January 19th, 2024, the investigators prepared a probable cause affidavit for the felony crime of Video Voyeurism against Christian Ziegler. This affidavit was subsequently sent to the State Attorney’s Office for further review. As with all cases, Sarasota Police detectives handled this case with the utmost diligence and impartiality. Ziegler has cooperated with Sarasota Police throughout the investigation. 

The Sarasota Police Department remains committed to upholding the law and ensuring justice is served. The Twelfth Judicial Circuit Office of the State Attorney will provide further updates as this case progresses through the legal system.

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