Zieglers sue to stop release of records from rape, voyeurism investigation

Former Florida Republican Party chairman Christian Ziegler and Bridget Ziegler, Sarasota County school board member, have moved forward with a lawsuit against the city of Sarasota and the Office of the State Attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit to prevent the release of additional records from a closed criminal investigation into video voyeurism and sexual battery.

The lawsuit seeks to prohibit the release of the couple’s private communication that were obtained during the investigation and asks for all communications that are in possession of authorities to be destroyed. The Zieglers’ legal representation argued that the release of information would cause great humiliation and harm to their reputations and violates their individual rights to privacy.

“The proverbial cat would be way outside the bag,” the lawsuit stated.

In case you missed it: State Attorney's Office declines to charge Christian Ziegler with video voyeurism

Court filings were spurred after individuals and media outlets made public records requests related to contents used in the criminal investigation: Christian Ziegler’s text messages, his Google Drive and Instagram account, which are in possession of the city and the SAO.

While the lawsuit was initially filed against the Sarasota Police Department, it has since been switched to be against the city of Sarasota. The Zieglers’ lawyer, Matthew Sarelson, said that the switch was made because the Sarasota Police Department is a part of the city of Sarasota and cannot be sued as an individual entity.

More: Former Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler won't be charged with rape

Christian Ziegler was investigated by the Sarasota Police Department in October after he was accused of rape by a woman he had known for years. The allegation stems from a planned three-way sexual encounter between Christian Ziegler, the alleged victim and Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler who wasn't able to attend.

Sarasota Police didn’t move forward with filing rape charges against Christian Ziegler, but in January they asked the SAO to review a related investigation into potential video voyeurism by Christian Ziegler. The SAO announced on March 6 that it wouldn’t move forward with voyeurism charges.

The lawsuit argues that Florida law provides that data and electronic information aren’t automatically turned into a public record because it is stored on a device that’s accessed by a public agency. The only items that are public records are those that were used in connection with the investigation and communications between Ziegler and the accuser, the lawsuit states.

“Judicial intervention is necessary at this point to determine which, if any, of the documents and electronic data held by the city constitute public records under Florida law,” the lawsuit states.

The SAO, city of Sarasota and Sarasota Police didn’t respond to Herald-Tribune's calls and email requests for comment by the time of publication.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Zieglers sue to prevent criminal investigation records to be released