By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-21 05:16:29 | Updated at 2024-11-21 08:51:43
3 hours ago
The father of an alleged 'predator' was heard defending his daughter to police as a search warrant was executed on his property.
Alyssa Zinger, now 23, is accused of pretending to be a homeschooled 14-year-old girl to prey on teenage boys - one as young as 12 - to engage in sexual acts when she was 21.
Now newly-emerged bodycam footage captured her dad's reaction to police turning up on his door where he insinuated that his daughter was the one who had been taken advantage of.
Investigators executed a search warrant at the Zinger family's home on November 24, 2023, to seize Alyssa's cellphone following accusations of an alleged pornographic video featuring her and the young victim.
Her father spoke to the cops outside of his home and said that his 'beautiful young daughter' had 'a lot of problems' and 'mental issues'.
'We have been doing nothing but being 100 percent cooperative,' he said and shrugged while being told they were unable to enter their home before the warrant arrived.
After acknowledging that the situation 'sucks' because he can't go inside the home while cops are working, he added that Zinger had 'got messed up with the wrong kid, even though he's a lot younger'.
'My daughter, never been in trouble in her life - even though he's young, she had never been in trouble in her life - until she was starting to get with him,' he said in the footage.
Alyssa Ann Zinger, 23, of Tampa, Florida, allegedly pretended to be a homeschooled 14-year-old girl to prey on middle schoolers and engage in sex acts with younger boys
'My daughter, never been in trouble in her life - even though he's young, she had never been in trouble in her life - until she was starting to get with him,' said Zinger's father before the police searched his home for his daughter's cell phone
He then referred to the young victim as 'insane' and said: 'Like I said my daughter has never been in trouble in her life, this kid is 14 years old he's got girls at his house, videotaping them, making porn at 14.
'My daughter's 22, she was a virgin till she was 21.'
Zinger was arrested in November 2023 for allegedly engaging in more than 30 sexual acts with young boys with at least five victims.
It is claimed that she had posed as a homeschooled teenager and contacted the victim on Snapchat, before allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with him.
She was then arrested for a second time with additional charges for sex crimes when four more victims said they had also been targeted by Zinger.
Authorities said she had sexual intercourse with the first victim multiple times and allegedly sent pornographic video to several children over Snapchat.
She has been charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery and five counts of lewd or lascivious molestation on a victim who is between 12 and 15 years old. The age of consent in Florida is 18.
Court records state that Zinger waived her right to an arraignment and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
She was released from Orient Road jail on November 24, a day of her arrest and paid a $7,500 bond on each second-degree felony charge, records show.
The 23-year-old was arrested in November for engaging in more than 30 sexual acts with at least one student as young as 12 from Wilson Middle School
According to search warrants, Zinger and the victim allegedly met over Snapchat at the end of May 2023. Until their breakup in September, the victim believed she was 14 years old.
Once officials interviewed the victim, it was revealed that the suspect allegedly engaged in sexual activity with him approximately 30 times and told him that she molested other boys in the past.
Chief Lee Bercaw of the Tampa Police Department said, 'It is disturbing and unsettling to see an adult take advantage of a child and prey on them.
'Anyone who may have been a victim of Zinger's, we encourage you to come forward. The Tampa Police Department will support you and ensure a predator like Zinger doesn't cause you or others additional harm.'
In July, the accused and victim were allegedly caught shoplifting from Nordstrom at International Plaza and Bay Street.
She identified herself to an officer using her actual name but said she was born in 2009. The officer could not find information on her with the 2009 date of birth she provided but found one of Alyssa Ann Zinger, who was born in 2001.
Chief Lee Bercaw of the Tampa Police Department said: 'It is disturbing and unsettling to see an adult take advantage of a child and prey on them'
She told the officer that she had a half-sister of the same name. But after the relationship was revealed, employers at a Tampa Publix where Zinger worked also confirmed she was an adult.
In April earlier this year, Zinger was denied bond after Judge Laura Ward said no terms of release would have the safeguards to keep the community safe, according to Fox 13.
'You don't really seem to grasp the problem here,' Judge 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.'
In June, after she asked for pre-trial release, it was agreed that Zinger would stay in jail until her trial.
