Father Defends Daughter, Alleged in Florida School Case, as the ‘True Victim

A Florida woman, who impersonated a teenager to engage in inappropriate activities with five middle school boys, is being described by her father as a “mentally defective” individual who is the actual victim of these incidents.

Alyssa Ann Zinger, 25, reportedly struggled with numerous mental health issues throughout her upbringing, including ADHD, ADD, OCD, Tourette’s syndrome, and anorexia. Her father, Josh Zinger, shared these details with the California Post, while emphasizing that she was raised in a “good Christian home” in suburban Tampa.

“She faced numerous challenges growing up,” he explained. “Our daughter has seen between 10 and 12 psychologists and psychiatrists over her lifetime.”

Zinger’s father further mentioned that Alyssa once scored a 72 on an IQ test, a score significantly below the average of 100, highlighting her cognitive difficulties.

At the time of her latest arrest, Alyssa Zinger, aged 23, was already on pre-trial release from a previous arrest in November. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)

“She’s defective — mentally defective. And do you know what that means under the law? If somebody is mentally defective and has sex with somebody, no matter their age, it’s illegal to have sex with a mentally defective person,” Zinger said. 

“In all actuality, she is the victim,” he added. 

Zinger was arrested in 2023 after allegedly posing as a 14-year-old teen on social media and having dozens of sexual encounters with a boy between the ages of 12 and 15.

The boy, who Josh Zinger called “the little bastard,” seduced his daughter and took her virginity, he told the newspaper.  

“That boy found her [social media] account, found her dancing like a 13-year-old on it and said, ‘Hey, girl, I’ll Uber you to my $5,000-a-month apartment — come on and hang out’,” the dad said.

Alyssa Zinger in court. She is accused of communicating with teenage boys via TikTok and Snapchat while claiming to be a 14-year-old homeschooled student. (FOX 13 Tampa Bay)

“And then when she got there, she never said she wasn’t 14 to him, but he knew her real age, and he knew she was mentally unstable,” Josh claimed. 

He claimed that over several months, the boy had Zinger over at his apartment and introduced her to other school-age boys, four of whom would become Zinger’s other alleged victims. 

“The boy who harbored her in his house for five months — he’s the one who introduced her to his friends, and they all were like, ‘Hey, this girl is 14,’ wink, wink, high-five, high-five, ‘Your turn, bud,’” Josh Zinger said.

“There will be no plea deal, there will be no sex offender registry, she’ll get time served and adios,” he predicted. 

Months after his arrest, Zinger was arrested in April 2024 after investigators allegedly identified the four other middle school victims.

Alyssa Zingerallegedluy communicated with teenage boys via social media.  (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Zinger is slated to go to trial in May. 

She remains in jail on charges of lewd or lascivious battery, lewd or lascivious molestation, possession of child pornography, in-state transmission of child pornography by an electronic device and sexual cyber harassment, all felonies. 

In addition, other inmates have treated her poorly, her father said, with there being “s— in her food all the time; fingernails, hair, objects, plastic, because whoever was making her food knew who she was, and they knew that that food was going to a pedophile,” he said.