Video above: Bridget Ziegler denies planned threesome with ex-GOP chair, woman who accused him of rape
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Newly-released documents from the Sarasota Police Department provide more details on the sexual battery investigation against former Florida Republican Party chair Christian Ziegler, including his Google search history.
A woman, whose name was redacted from the documents, accused him of raping her in October and recording the encounter without her knowledge. She claimed she was lured to Ziegler’s home under the guise of a threesome with his wife, Sarasota County School Board member and Moms for Liberty founder Bridget Ziegler, and changed her mind when she learned Bridget was not there.
Bridget Ziegler claimed to know nothing of the planned encounter, but told police she had a threesome with her husband and the accuser two years prior. She said the sexual battery allegation surprised her, “but not the extra marital activity,” investigators noted.
The woman, who has known Christian Ziegler for two decades, claimed he sexually battered her “for years,” according to police documents. His phone and Instagram accounts were searched by police.
After detectives visited Ziegler for the first time, he made the following Google searches on his phone, according to Sarasota police documents:
- How prearrest criminal investigations work
- Sexual battery settlement average
- What is the average settlement for a premises liability sexual assault case
- Sparcc
- Subpoena Instagram Vanish
- How quick police criminal investigation
- Accused of sexual battery and dismissed
- Only Fans
- Remove subscriptions from list
- Sue for false allegations
- Cost to file civil suit
- (Redacted)
- (Redacted)
- How sex crimes are investigated and prosecuted in the state of florida
- Johnathan Todd Sarasota
- Chief of Sarasota detectives
- What happens when someone presses charges against you
- (Redacted)
- Sexual Battery
- Consent sexual how
- Can vanish mode messages be recovered on Instagram
- False sexual assault accusation
- Sarasota sex crime attorney
- Sexual battery proof
- Faraday bags for tablets, phones and laptops Go Dark bags
“During a search for (victim’s name) in Ziegler’s phone, a list containing the names of several other women was located. It was titled ‘THE LIST’ in the phone and name was listed under the sub-heading labeled, ‘F—‘,” a police report stated.
Detectives found a 2021 text message from Ziegler to the accuser that stated “I can come thru window,” which appeared to corroborate a claim she previously made to officers. In a series of text messages between the Zieglers, also from 2021, Christian described the alleged victim as “an alcoholic, nice person with some issues,” before the pair contemplated finding a new sex partner.
“I just don’t want to feel like we ever take advantage of anyone (I know it’s always been consensual) but she seems…. ‘broken’ or like she’s going through some s— and I don’t know- that’s the vibe I pick up from her- and my nature is more likely to help her versus…ya know’,” a text from Bridget stated.
Multiple people, including investigators and bystanders, who spoke with the woman described her as possibly being intoxicated or experiencing mental health issues. She told detectives she was suicidal after the encounter with Ziegler.
A Sarasota police investigation found insufficient evidence to charge Ziegler with sexual battery and the case was forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office earlier this month to review a potential video voyeurism charge.