A Tampa woman is facing multiple felony charges for engaging in sexual acts with middle school students, was ordered on Monday morning to remain incarcerated until her trial. Alyssa Zinger, 23, was rearrested last week after detectives uncovered four more victims aged 12-15 who claimed Zinger had sexually abused them.
She was originally arrested in November 2022 when the first victim came forward. Police say Zinger told the victims she was a 14-year-old homeschooled student. Evidence presented at a pretrial detention hearing revealed Zinger communicated with the victims through social media platforms including Snapchat and TikTok.
Judge Laura Ward admonished the suspect, saying she had preyed on the boys, taken advantage of them, and abused them. Though no evidence showed the suspect committed more crimes after her jail release last year, the judge lacked confidence that she wouldn’t reoffend.
Since her release, the suspect allegedly lived with her parents, who gave police a wrong phone during a search. This misinformation brought police back, when the suspect claimed she’d lost her phone. “Your parents tried helping you but made it worse,” Judge Ward told her.
After her November arrest, Zinger now faces a total of 12 charges, including two counts each of lewd and lascivious battery and molestation involving a victim between 12 and 15 years old, as well as one count each of possessing child pornography, electronically transmitting child pornography, and sexual cyberharassment.
