The father of a Florida woman who posed on social media sites as a homeschooled teenager before allegedly sexually abusing five middle school boys said she is “mentally defective” and added he is of the belief that his daughter is the true victim in the ongoing criminal case.
Josh Zinger told the California Post that his daughter, 25-year-old Alyssa Ann Zinger, is “mentally defective,” even explaining that she once scored a 72 on an intelligence quotient test.
“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.”
An IQ score of 72 is considered slightly below the average range of 85 to 115. An IQ below 70 is considered the threshold for intellectually disabled.
The father said that Alyssa has been diagnosed with various mental disorders, including ADHD, ADD, OCD, Tourette’s syndrome and anorexia. He also said that she was raised in a “good Christian home” in suburban Tampa.
“She had a lot of problems growing up,” he added. “Our daughter has been to 10 to 12 psychologists and psychiatrists throughout her life.”
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Zinger was arrested back in 2023 after authorities alleged that she started posing as a 14-year-old teen on social media and having dozens of sexual encounters with a boy who was between the ages of 12 and 15.
Alyssa’s dad called the boy a “little bastard” and accused him of seducing his adult daughter and taking her virginity.
“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. “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.”
Alyssa posted a number of videos to social media showing her displaying her dance moves.
He claimed that the boy had invited Alyssa over to his apartment a number of times over several months and would eventually introduce her to the other four boys she stands accused of sexually abusing.
“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 said. “There will be no plea deal. There will be no sex offender registry. She’ll get time served and adios.”
He also said that his daughter has been mistreated while in jail.
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Other inmates, he said, have “s*** in her food” or placed fingernails, hair, and plastic objects in her meals “because whoever was making her food knew who she was, and they knew that that food was going to a pedophile.”
Alyssa remains in police custody. Her case is scheduled for trial in May.
Bodycam footage from when police first showed up at her family’s home to arrest her shows Josh coming to Alyssa’s defense.
“She got messed up with the wrong kid, you know, even though he’s a lot younger,” the father could be heard telling police in the footage. “She’s never been in trouble in her life, nothing but she met a kid and he even though he’s young — that’s why we’re in this situation. She never been in trouble in her life until she met him — and this kid’s like insane.”
