Police said that a “video showed that the encounter was likely consensual.”
POLITICO
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Sarasota police have decided against recommending rape charges against ousted Republican Party of Florida chair Christian Ziegler but he could still face felony charges of illegally recording the alleged victim.
Ziegler earlier this month was pushed out of his post as chair of the state party after he refused to step down as the criminal probe was underway.
In a statement released on Friday, the Sarasota Police Department said it reviewed a video that Ziegler allegedly recorded of him and the woman who made the initial rape complaint. Police said that “the video showed that the encounter was likely consensual. Therefore, detectives were unable to develop probable cause to charge Ziegler with sexual battery.”
But police said after they conducted a follow-up interview with the alleged victim, she told detectives she was unaware that Ziegler had recorded their encounter and did not consent to be recorded. The police have recommended that local prosecutors charge Ziegler with video voyeurism.
