SARASOTA, Fla. — New documents released by Sarasota police reveal the woman who accused former Florida Republican party chairman Christian Ziegler of rape told police he had been "sexually battering her for years" and "never felt like she could say no to him," according to the records.
The 22-page document also included new details that the former Florida GOP heavyweight kept a list containing the names of several other women on his phone, — including his accuser — titled "THE LIST" with a subheading labeled a graphic expletive.
Ziegler was once a rising star of Florida's Republican Party, along with his wife, Bridget Ziegler, a founder of the conservative group Moms for Liberty, which pushes traditional values. Ziegler is also a sitting Sarasota school board member.
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Both have been embroiled in a head-turning, headline-making sex scandal ever since the accuser's original allegation exposed the couple's non-traditional personal lives.
During the investigation into claims that Christian sexually assaulted the woman at her home in October, Bridget revealed to police she and her husband had a threesome with the woman about a year earlier. Christian told police it was twice.
While police dropped the rape case pointing to a video Christian took of the encounter suggesting it was consensual, these latest records also show the Zieglers discussed the woman's personal issues that included Christian describing her to his wife in a 2021 text as "an alcoholic, nice person with some issues."
"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," Bridget responded.
Janae Thomas, a former prosecutor in Hillsborough County, explained how these details could still be relevant to other charges.
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Sarasota police are recommending Christian be charged with video voyeurism for illegally taping the encounter.
"It shows a pattern. It shows his history. It shows the motive, intent of how this has been progressing over the last few years, and the method in which he uses," Thomas said.
A method that, according to these records, also shows the couple had plans for more threesomes.
After the 2021 text from Bridget expressing concerns that they were taking advantage of the woman, Christian wrote how "they needed to hunt for someone new."
The records also show after detectives interviewed Christian in November about the sexual assault allegations, his Google searches included:
- How prearrest criminal investigations work
- Sexual battery settlement average
- Only Fans
- Sue for false allegations
- Subpoena Instagram Vanish
To date, no criminal charges have been filed against Christian Ziegler. Despite calls for Bridget Ziegler to step down from Sarasota's school board, so far, she hasn’t.
