Current:Home > MyFlorida woman charged with sex crimes after posing as student on Snapchat: Tampa Police -GrowthSphere Strategies
Florida woman charged with sex crimes after posing as student on Snapchat: Tampa Police
View
Date:2025-04-13 08:52:43
A Florida woman faces several sex crime charges after police say she started a relationship with a minor after posing as a student online.
The Tampa Police Department announced in a Friday press release that Alyssa Zinger, 22, was arrested on Nov. 24 following an investigation into a relationship with a boy between 12 and 15 years old.
Police believe there could be other victims.
“It is disturbing and unsettling to see an adult take advantage of a child and prey on them,” said Tampa police chief Lee Bercaw. “Anyone who may have been a victim of Zinger’s, we encourage you to come forward."
Zinger has been charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious battery (engage) and five counts of lewd, lascivious molestation of a victim aged 12-15 by a defendant older than 18. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is out on bail. Zinger's attorney did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's emailed request for comment Monday morning.
Police say Zinger posed as a homeschooled student online
Tampa Police say Zinger pretended to be a homeschooled student online and primarily communicated with the minor boy through social media, according to the release.
A search warrant obtained by the Tampa Bay Times said that Zinger contacted the child over Snapchat and had a sexual relationship with him. She also pretended to be 14 years old, according to another incident described in the warrant.
The victim told police during the investigation they engaged in a sexual relationship between late May and mid-September, according to the Times. The victim said he received sexually explicit photos and videos during that time, the Times reported.
Anyone with information is asked to call Tampa Police at 813-231-6130.
Other Florida news:Florida police officer charged with sexual battery and false imprisonment of tourist
veryGood! (7)
Related
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- This expert on water scarcity would never call herself a 'genius.' But MacArthur would
- See Jacob Elordi's Full Elvis Presley Transformation in New Priscilla Trailer
- Poland’s central bank cuts interest rates for the second time in month
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Student activists are pushing back against big polluters — and winning
- Cases affected by California county’s illegal use of jail informants jumps to 57, new analysis finds
- Sofia Coppola's 'Priscilla' movie dissects Elvis Presley wedding, courtship: Watch trailer
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Florida man executed by lethal injection for killing 2 women he met in bars a day apart
Ranking
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- Tropical Storm Philippe soaks northeast Caribbean on a path toward Bermuda, New England and Canada
- Trio wins Nobel Prize in chemistry for work on quantum dots, used in electronics and medical imaging
- Google wants to make your email inbox less spammy. Here's how.
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- UK police open a corporate manslaughter investigation into a hospital where a nurse killed 7 babies
- Spike Lee always had a vision. Now a new Brooklyn exhibit explores his prolific career.
- Michael Jordan, now worth $3 billion, ranks among Forbes' richest 400 people
Recommendation
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
A timeline of 9-year-old Charlotte Sena's disappearance and how the missing girl was found
Snoop Dogg calls Deion Sanders, wants to send message to new star receiver at Colorado
What to know about Elijah McClain’s death and the criminal trial of two officers
Small twin
Point of no return: Pope challenges leaders at UN talks to slow global warming before it’s too late
Russia says it has foiled a major Ukrainian drone attack as concerns grow about weapons supplies
Jimmie Allen, wife Alexis Gale welcome third child amid separation and assault allegations