Christian Ziegler rape investigation: Newly obtained bodycam video from original welfare check
SARASOTA, Fla. - As the criminal investigation into Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler continues, FOX 13 is getting a look into the original welfare check on the victim through newly obtained body camera video. That call sparked the beginning of the Sarasota Police Department's investigation into the rape allegations.
The video has been heavily blurred with audio removed to protect the victim's identity, but it was the first time investigators began looking for evidence in the case.
Heavily blurred image from body camera footage.
Officers with the Sarasota Police Department first arrived at the home of a distraught woman on October 4, 2023. The welfare check from officers was initiated by a 911 call received just a short time earlier.
"I was hoping to do a wellness on a friend of mine. She hasn’t shown up for work the last two days," the 911 caller said back when police initiated the welfare check. "I just got off the phone with her, and she sounds drunk. I know she has pain medication on her, and she told me she doesn’t think she can do it anymore."
The woman on the phone told dispatchers that her friend had been sexually assaulted.
"She is saying she’s scared, because the person who raped her came to her house, and she’s scared to leave," said the caller.
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Officers were inside the woman’s home for about half an hour. An officer can be heard asking a building staff member if they had security footage in the hallway. Another officer spoke with a building staff member to try and pinpoint surveillance footage to assist in their investigation.
Pictured: Christian Ziegler.
Through three search warrants, the woman made the allegation of rape against Ziegler, who is also a former Sarasota County commissioner. Ziegler has told Sarasota police that the encounter with the woman was consensual and through messages he called her a friend of "20 years."
Officers brought the woman to Sarasota Memorial Hospital by her own request where a rape kit was completed. The investigation continues, and Ziegler has not been charged with a crime at this time.
Ziegler’s attorney, Derek Byrd, has said through a statement, "We are confident that once the police investigation is concluded that no charges will be filed and Mr. Ziegler will be completely exonerated."