Tampa woman accused of molesting students to be held in jail until trial

TAMPA - A Tampa woman accused of pretending she was a teenager to lure teenage boys into sexual relationships will be held in jail until her trial, a Hillsborough County judge ruled Monday.

Alyssa Zinger, now 23, was in court, asking a judge for the chance to be released from jail before her trial. Zinger was arrested in November and charged with two counts of felony lewd or lascivious battery and five counts of felony lewd or lascivious molestation.

Detectives have said Zinger had an ongoing sexual relationship with a teenage boy. The case stems back to May 2023, when she allegedly befriended students from Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Tampa over Snapchat. According to court documents, investigators believe she participated in at least 30 sexual acts with one student, between 12 and 15 years old, at his home. 

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Investigators said some sex acts were recorded and shared with other students via Snapchat.

Zinger pled not guilty to those charges.

The investigation into that case led to the discovery of four additional victims, detectives have said, including the one that landed Zinger back in court Monday.

"This case represents only one of the multiple, juvenile male victims, that Ms. Zinger was not only contacting and having sexually explicit messages with through social media, but also meeting and having actual sexual contact with," said Traci Dishman, a Hillsborough County prosecutor.

Tampa Police Det. Amanda Baranowski testified Monday that Zinger convinced a 14-year-old boy that she was 16 years old when she was actually 21 at the time. She's accused of posing as a 14-year-old in other cases.

The detective added her investigation is ongoing and there could be additional victims.

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"The state would argue there are no conditions of release reasonably sufficient to protect the community from the risk of physical harm to persons and specifically to male individuals under the age of 18," Dishman said.

Zinger has been in jail since April, when the additional alleged victims came forward. The defense urged the judge to consider that Zinger didn't break any laws during her initial pre-trial release and her history of psychological issues.

The judge, however, agreed with prosecutors and ordered Zinger held in jail until her trial.

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