Former Pensacola Police Officer Faces Additional Charges for Allegedly Concealing HIV Status from Partner

Last updated: May 30, 2026

Pensacola, Fl. NewsWK, Staff Writer,—A former officer with the Pensacola Police Department (PPD) is facing new felony charges after allegedly failing to inform a sexual partner of his HIV-positive diagnosis.

According to Escambia County Jail records, 32-year-old Pierce Avery Cotton was taken into custody by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 8:20 a.m. on Friday. He was booked on two new counts of violating Florida State Statute 384.24(2), which makes it a third-degree felony for a person aware of their HIV-positive status to engage in sexual intercourse without prior disclosure to their partner.

Cotton was released later that afternoon, around 4:20 p.m., after posting a $30,000 bond.

Friday’s arrest brings Cotton’s total number of charges to three. He was initially arrested in mid-March on a single count of the same offense. Following that initial arrest, the Pensacola Police Department placed Cotton on administrative leave pending an Internal Affairs investigation. A PPD spokesperson has since confirmed that Cotton is no longer employed by the agency.  

While the official arrest reports for Friday’s two new charges have not yet been released to the public, the affidavit from his initial March arrest outlines a timeline of alleged concealment.

According to investigators, Florida Department of Health laboratory records confirm Cotton tested positive for HIV in July 2025. A few months later, in October 2025, he reportedly entered into a sexual relationship with a woman.

The situation unraveled in February 2026 after the woman became pregnant and announced the news via a “baby reveal” post on Facebook. The arrest report indicates that the mother of Cotton’s first child saw the social media post and recognized the new partner. Knowing that Cotton had been prescribed medication used to treat HIV, she reached out to the expectant mother out of concern for her and her unborn child’s health, urging her to get tested.

When the pregnant woman confronted Cotton via text message, investigators say he initially deflected, writing: “I’m sick. It’s under control, and that’s been proven. You can’t contract it.”

When pressed to name the illness, Cotton allegedly admitted his diagnosis but continued to downplay the risk. According to the arrest affidavit, he texted back: “I’ll preface it with this then. I can’t transmit it. You don’t have it, since you’ve already been tested for it. But it is HIV. I made sure I was safe so as to keep you from getting it. You and the baby can’t get it from me.”

Under Florida law, individuals diagnosed with HIV are legally obligated to inform any sexual partners of their status prior to intercourse, regardless of viral load or transmission risk.  

Because Cotton is a former law enforcement officer, his booking photograph is legally exempt from public disclosure under Florida’s public records laws.  

Stay with Pensacola.newswk.com for updates as arrest reports for the latest charges become available.