Charlotte County investigators say Malia Elizabeth Nummerdor acknowledged appearing in the footage but denied that any sexual contact occurred.
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — A 38-year-old Florida woman was arrested Sept. 15 after investigators said home surveillance footage showed conduct involving the family dog that led to a felony charge of sexual activity involving animals, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
Malia Elizabeth Nummerdor faces a second-degree felony charge under Florida law. The Sheriff’s Office said Nummerdor confirmed during an interview that she was the woman shown in the surveillance footage and that the dog was the family pet. She denied that anything sexual occurred. The criminal charge remains an allegation, and authorities have not announced a conviction or other final resolution of the case.
The investigation began after Charlotte County detectives learned of social media posts alleging that a woman had engaged in sexual conduct with a pet dog. Investigators contacted the person who made the allegations and obtained sworn statements and digital evidence. The Sheriff’s Office said the material came from a surveillance system inside the residence.
According to an arrest report described by Gulf Coast News, Nummerdor’s husband told investigators that he had installed two security cameras in the home while trying to determine who had been taking money from a coin container. He said people living in the residence knew about the cameras. While reviewing recordings from a bedroom camera, he said he found footage involving Nummerdor and the dog.
The husband met with investigators Sept. 14 and provided images from the recording as well as access to the laptop containing the footage, according to the report. Detectives reviewed the digital material before interviewing Nummerdor the following day. The surveillance recording has not been publicly released by the Sheriff’s Office, so descriptions of what it shows come from investigators and reports based on the arrest documents.
The Sheriff’s Office said Nummerdor acknowledged during the Sept. 15 interview that she was the person shown in the footage and confirmed that the animal was the family dog. She denied engaging in sexual activity. Investigators said she could not provide a consistent explanation for what they believed the recording showed. Nummerdor later requested an attorney, and detectives ended the interview.
Deputies then arrested Nummerdor on a charge of sexual activity involving animals. Florida Statute 828.126 prohibits a person from knowingly engaging in sexual contact with an animal. Under the 2026 version of the law, a violation of that provision is a second-degree felony. The statute describes several forms of prohibited conduct, but the existence of the charge does not establish that Nummerdor committed the offense.
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said in the department’s announcement that his office would take action when it learned of alleged sexual conduct involving animals and emphasized that animals should be protected from such treatment. The initial Sheriff’s Office release did not announce additional charges or provide information about the dog’s condition or where the animal was being kept.
When the Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest Sept. 16, authorities said Nummerdor was being held at the Charlotte County Jail on $35,000 bond. CBS Miami reported Sept. 18 that she remained in custody at that time. A report published Sept. 22 said she had since been released on bond, although a primary jail or court record independently confirming the timing of her release was not located in the sources reviewed.
The criminal case remains unresolved. Nummerdor has denied that sexual activity occurred, while investigators say the surveillance evidence supported her arrest. No final court judgment in the case had been announced in the material reviewed as of Sept. 22.
Author note: Last updated September 22, 2026.