Former DeSantis Spokesperson Pleads No Contest to Sex Crimes
MANATEE — A former communications official for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pled no contest Thursday to indecent exposure charges stemming from multiple incidents in Sarasota and Manatee counties, according to court records and law enforcement.
Fred Piccolo, who previously held senior communications roles under Ron DeSantis and at New College of Florida, entered the plea in Manatee County court. A sentencing date has not been set.
Piccolo is not the first DeSantis ally in the Sarasota area to be accused of sex crimes. Republican Party of Florida chair Christian Ziegler was investigated for both rape and video voyeurism in 2024.
Piccolo was arrested last April by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office after investigators alleged he exposed himself to multiple people, including retail employees at the University Town Center Mall in Sarasota and a woman he stopped while asking for directions in a Lakewood Ranch neighborhood. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors could present sufficient evidence for a conviction.
Prosecutors in neighboring Sarasota County also charged Piccolo last year with three similar misdemeanor exposure offenses at department stores in the same mall. Court records show Piccolo previously pleaded not guilty in those cases, which remain pending.
According to affidavits, the Sarasota incidents involved Piccolo exposing himself to store employees in fitting rooms on multiple dates. In the Manatee County case, investigators said a woman reported that a man stopped his vehicle to ask for directions and later exposed himself; deputies later identified the suspect as Piccolo.
Piccolo’s family and attorney have attributed his conduct to medical complications. Following his arrest last April, a family member said, “We are very sorry that any individuals were subjected to any inappropriate conduct and we will seek the medical and mental health services necessary to return him to the wonderful and caring individual we knew before this decade of medication he has endured.” His attorney has said Piccolo was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and that prescribed medications resulted in compulsive behavior and hypersexuality.
Piccolo served as communications director for DeSantis’ office from August 2020 until December 2020, resigning after a controversial social media post. He then worked for the Florida Department of Education and most recently served as director of marketing and media strategy at New College after Governor DeSantis’s hostile takeover of the university.
In a separate civil matter, former state Rep. Jackie Toledo sued Piccolo in 2022 alleging the receipt of unsolicited, offensive messages and images; court records show the lawsuit was later dropped.
Authorities have not announced a sentencing date in the Manatee County case.