BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. — A former Berkeley County emergency communications dispatch supervisor has been charged with three felony counts accusing him of exposing other people to HIV by having sex without disclosing his status, according to jail and court records.
Zachary Cyrus, 39, faces three counts of “exposing another to HIV,” records show. A judge set a $50,000 surety bond during a Wednesday bond hearing and ordered Cyrus to remain on house arrest, according to court documents.
An affidavit filed in the case alleges Cyrus has known he was HIV-positive since about 2015. Court records describe three separate allegations. In one, a complainant told the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office that he met Cyrus on two occasions and that the pair had sexual intercourse in December 2025, but Cyrus did not disclose his HIV status before, during or after, the records say. In another, the complainant reported meeting Cyrus on three occasions in 2025 and engaging in intercourse each time without being told Cyrus had HIV, court records state. A third allegation involves a relationship that court records say began in September 2024, when the two lived together and had sex multiple times, with Cyrus allegedly never disclosing his HIV status.
Under South Carolina law, it is illegal for a person who knows they are infected with HIV to knowingly engage in sexual intercourse with another person without first informing that person of their HIV status. The offense is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a $5,000 fine, according to the statute cited in court records.
Berkeley County officials said Cyrus was fired from his job as a dispatch supervisor after he was charged.
