Two of the alleged offenses by the former New College communications director have been upgraded from misdemeanors.
By Derek Gilliam/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: May 23, 2025
Host: Fred Piccolo Jr. now faces three additional felony charges of indecent exposure, Suncoast Searchlight and The Florida Trident report. Derek Gilliam with Suncoast Searchlight brings us the latest on the former communications director at New College of Florida and longtime political operative.
Derek Gilliam: Piccolo this time faces the charges in Sarasota County, after State Attorney Ed Brodsky upgraded the charges from misdemeanors.
The new felony counts stem from two incidents in September 2024 at the University Town Center Mall, when Piccolo allegedly exposed himself to female store employees on multiple occasions. The offenses were initially charged as misdemeanors, but they were reclassified due to their repeat nature. Under Florida law, a second or subsequent exposure offense can be treated as a felony.
The upgraded charges were filed on Tuesday, court records show. An arrest warrant was issued for Piccolo’s arrest on the new charges. The warrant also identifies a third Sarasota County felony indecent exposure charge that allegedly occurred in March.
Fred Piccolo’s booking photo by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office via Suncoast Searchlight.
Piccolo was arrested by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday. As of Friday morning, Piccolo had posted the $225,000 bond for the three felony charges of indecent exposure and was in the process of being released, according to a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.
The charges are separate from two felony charges Piccolo already faces in Manatee County, where he was arrested in April after allegedly exposing himself to a woman in Lakewood Ranch while naked from the waist down and a second incident near New College. Both incidents occurred in March 2025 and led to his firing from New College.
Piccolo has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges. His attorney has said that Piccolo suffers from Parkinson’s disease and takes medications known to cause compulsive behavior and hypersexuality as side effects.
The felony charges in Sarasota and Manatee counties are pending court proceedings.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office initially submitted non-arrest affidavits for the 2024 incidents, meaning Piccolo was not booked into jail. His identity remained unknown to the public until his arrest in Manatee County months later.
Piccolo also faces civil proceedings after his wife filed for divorce on May 5, 2025.
Sarasota County Justice Center. Photo by Michael Barfield for The Florida Trident via Suncoast Searchlight
Piccolo had been hired by New College in December 2024 as its top communications official—three months after the spate of exposure incidents at the mall.
The school conducted a background check through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but it failed to flag the earlier indecent exposure complaints. That’s because Piccolo had not been arrested at the time, and Florida’s database includes only “fingerprint-based arrests,” according to the agency.
Before joining New College, Piccolo was a well-known figure in Florida political and communications circles. He served as spokesperson for the Florida Speaker of the House when New College President Richard Corcoran held the role from 2016 to 2018 and remained in that position under Republican state Rep. Jose Oliva. In July 2020, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hired Piccolo to run his communications operation, and in 2021, Piccolo started a new position working for the Florida Department of Education’s Division of Colleges.
For Suncoast Searchlight, this is Derek Gilliam. This report was jointly produced by Suncoast Searchlight and The Florida Trident.
To read the full report, visit suncoastsearchlight.org/piccolo-attorney-upgrades-charges-new-college-felonies.
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