No bond for woman accused of posing as 14-year-old, molesting students
TAMPA - A Tampa woman who’s accused of posing as a 14-year-old and molesting multiple teenage boys will remain behind bars.
Alyssa Zinger, now 23, was arrested in November and charged with two counts of felony lewd or lascivious battery and five counts of felony lewd or lascivious molestation.
Investigators say Zinger allegedly had an ongoing sexual relationship with a teenage boy.
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Detectives say they discovered four additional victims over the last several months.
Zinger was arrested again last week, and is now facing 11 felonies that include lewd and lascivious molestation, lewd and lascivious battery, sexual cyber harassment and possession of child pornography.
Zinger was out of jail on pre-trial release. On Monday, a judge denied Zinger bond on some of the new charges.
Photo courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Prosecutors say the four additional victims were 13 and 14 years old.
"This defendant lived a full life masquerading as a 14-year-old girlfriend to a true 14-year-old," Assistant State Attorney Muriel Moore said.
Prosecutors say Zinger posed as a 14-year-old homeschooled student, communicating with the boys on Snapchat and TikTok, and engaged in sexual acts with each of them at different points in 2023. Investigators say there’s also video evidence of multiple sexual acts, involving Zinger and the minors.
Zinger’s attorney argues she wasn’t the one who recorded the videos. Her attorney also says Zinger has a history of emotional and developmental challenges. She says Zinger was on an IEP plan throughout school, and switched schools in high school.
"This family has dealt with severe emotional and developmental issues with Ms. Zinger growing up," Dana Herce-Fulgueira, Zinger’s attorney said. "I think it's clear from just the content of the text messages. This is not a 22-year-old adult having communication with somebody who she saw as her equal."
However, prosecutors argue that there’s no indication of developmental delays on her school records.
Alyssa Zinger appears in court for a bond hearing on charges of molesting students while posing as a 14-year-old.
"This is not a 22-year-old child," Moore said. "This is an adult. A 22-year-old adult."
Prosecutors also argued that Zinger’s parents could potentially have helped her hide evidence. In court, they showed body camera footage from a search at Zinger’s parents’ home, where she was living. The footage shows Zinger’s father giving detectives a phone that he said belonged to Zinger.
However, detectives say that phone had an ID that matched Zinger’s mother’s name, and the last call on the phone was in 2021.
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A detective said she went to Zinger’s parents’ home a second time, and Zinger told them that she had lost her phone.
Zinger’s attorney asked the judge to allow Zinger to remain out of jail on pre-trial release, saying Zinger had not violated any of the conditions of her pre-trial release.
"She could have fled," Herce-Fulgueira said. "Her parents could have sent her somewhere to live with someone. She did not. She remained in Hillsborough County knowing that these potential, other cases or counts could be added."
The judge denied Zinger bond, saying no terms of release would have the safeguards to keep the community safe.
"You don't really seem to grasp the problem here," Judge Laura Ward said. "You are the problem here. Your actions on these boys are illegal. And it's not okay, whether they took the video or you took the video. You are the only adult."
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The judge also ordered Zinger to have no access to electronics while in jail.
Prosecutors said the investigation is ongoing.
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