Virginia’s Fairfax County claims there is no “probable cause” to charge Richard Cox, a Tier III registered sex offender, for allegedly exposing himself to women and girls.
Fairfax County’s refusal to charge Cox comes despite an Arlington detective’s testimony that Cox was in possession of child pornography and Fairfax County children’s swim class schedules, Cox’s previous alleged admission of his own compulsions to expose himself, and witnesses claiming that he exposed himself to women and girls in Fairfax County recreation centers’ locker rooms, ABC 7 News’ Nick Minock reported.
Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat candidate for governor in Virginia, did not respond to The Federalist’s inquiry asking whether she believes it is appropriate for males to have access to sensitive female spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms, and whether she supports allowing men like Cox to use their supposed “transgender” identities to access sensitive women’s and children’s spaces. Spanberger has previously refused to condemn men’s access to sensitive women’s spaces, as reported by The Federalist.
In a statement Friday, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares explained that Cox’s status as a sex offender extends back to the 1990s, and that he was convicted on child pornography charges in 2006. Since then, Miyares noted, Cox has taken advantage of Virginia law that allowed him to change his driver’s license sex description to female, letting him exploit his claimed “transgender” identity and access to female spaces where he allegedly repeatedly exposed himself to women. Cox appealed to this so-called identity in a preliminary hearing in Arlington County Thursday, repeatedly claiming to be a woman and complaining that he was being “misgendered.”
The Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney’s Office “declined to participate in the prosecution of Cox” over a 2024 indecent exposure charge that was eventually dismissed, Miyares said, nor would it prosecute his reported presence near an indoor children’s playground, in violation of his status as a registered sex offender. Miyares attributed Cox’s alleged exposure of himself at an Arlington County high school — testified to in an Arlington County hearing — and other incidents to Fairfax County’s failure to prosecute Cox.
Miyares criticized Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for “an alarming pattern of misconduct, neglect of victims’ rights, constitutional violations, and dangerous prosecutorial policies” under the leadership of Steve Descano. Miyares called for Descano to resign.
Both Fairfax County and Arlington County school districts have implemented policies that allow access to spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms on the basis of “gender identity.” These policies are in violation of U.S. Department of Education policy, as previously reported by The Federalist.
Catherine Gripp is a graduate of Arizona Christian University where she earned a degree in communication and a minor in political science. She writes for The Federalist as a reporting intern.
