A 22-year-old Florida woman is accused of posing as a 14-year-old homeschool student and sexually assaulting an underage boy multiple times, according to police.
Alyssa Zinger faces two felony counts of lewd or lascivious battery and five felony counts of lewd or lascivious molestation involving a defendant over 18 and a victim between 12 and 15 years old, as detailed in a criminal report obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Zinger was arrested on November 24 but posted bond just hours later. During her first court appearance, she waived her right to an arraignment and pleaded not guilty to all seven charges.
The allegations against Zinger stem from an investigation led by Detective Amanda Baranowski, who outlined the case in an affidavit submitted to a Hillsborough County judge. According to the affidavit, the investigation began in October after multiple minors reported receiving a video from Zinger’s Snapchat account. The video allegedly showed an underage boy engaging in sexual activity with a minor female.
The minors who received the video told police they believed Zinger was around their age and homeschooled. Police later spoke with the boy seen in the video, who also believed Zinger was a 14-year-old homeschool student.
The victim told police that Zinger began communicating with him on Snapchat and that they met in person for the first time at the end of May. He stated that they engaged in physical intimacy, including performing sexual acts on each other, and provided photographs and videos as evidence. The victim claimed their sexual relationship lasted from late May to mid-September, during which they engaged in sexual activity approximately 30 times.
According to the affidavit, Zinger also sent the victim sexually explicit photos and videos of herself via Snapchat. She allegedly told the victim that she had engaged in sexual activity with other minors both before and during their relationship.
The victim further disclosed that after ending his relationship with Zinger, he engaged in a consensual sexual act with a minor female in early October. The minor female recorded the encounter on her phone. A few days later, Zinger allegedly visited the girl’s home under the pretense of charging her phone and secretly filmed the video from the girl’s device. Police say this is the same video Zinger later distributed on Snapchat.
The minor female reportedly caught Zinger filming the video and forced her to leave the home.
“It is disturbing and unsettling to see an adult take advantage of a child and prey on them,” said Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw in a statement. “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.”
Chief Bercaw added that additional charges are expected and that investigators believe there may be more victims in this case.
Zinger’s lawyer, Daniel Fernandez, did not respond to a request for comment.
