Virginia’s attorney general is blasting woke county officials for refusing to arrest a sex offender who claimed to be a woman so he could walk into girls’ locker rooms — and said there was clear evidence that he was “hunting” little girls at pools and water parks in the tony Washington, DC, suburb.
Richard Cox, a prolific, 58-year-old registered sex offender, allegedly exposed himself to little girls and women in the girls’ locker rooms. He was also found with child pornography and a schedule of girls’ swim class schedules at Fairfax County rec centers on his phone, cops said.
However, in Fairfax County — where a Dem-majority board oversees the cops — authorities said they have no plans to charge Cox for his visits to three rec centers where children were present, WJLA reported.
When he was finally arrested, it was in neighboring Arlington County — where Cox is facing charges for a laundry list of sex crimes.
Registered sex offender Richard Cox has not been charged with any crimes in Fairfax County. Arlington County Adult Detention CenterVideo obtained by WSET shows Cox, a biological male, entering women’s locker rooms at Fairfax County’s Oakmont, Audrey Moore, and Franconia rec centers last year.
Footage also shows Cox leaving Fairfax County’s “Our Special Harbor Spray Park” — a water park designed for young disabled kids.
Cox had told Fairfax County rec center staff that he identified as a transgender woman and, per the county’s transgender policy, was permitted to use the women’s locker rooms.
Victims now say he used the opportunity to expose himself to little girls and women, according to WSET.
Following last week’s bombshell revelation about Cox having Fairfax County children’s swimming schedules on his phone, Fairfax County police said they still don’t plan to pursue charges.
Surveillance video of Richard Cox at Audrey Moore Rec Center in Fairfax County in 2024. via 7News“FCPD conducted a full criminal investigation into Richard Cox’s actions and there is no probable cause to support charges in Fairfax County at this time,” the department said in a statement.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment.
On Friday, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said Cox was hunting girls in Fairfax County — and pushed for state lawmakers to allow his office to pass legislation allowing him to prosecute sex crimes that local prosecutors won’t.
Police body camera video shows an interaction with Richard Cox, a sex offender, outside Fairfax County rec center in November 2024. Fairfax County Police“It is clear, given his past conduct, that he sought children out in a very deliberate, systemic manner for sexual gratification,” Miyares said.
“He kept on his phone the schedule of the girl’s swim team so he could literally travel where they were and walk into their safe places,” he continued.
“To date, he still, despite multiple exposure incidents, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office has refused to initiate proceedings against Cox,” said Miyares.
Fairfax County’s failure to arrest and charge Cox enabled him to go to other locations in Arlington County and expose himself, the AG said.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which oversees county police, has just one Republican, Pat Herrity, who condemned the board’s transgender policy.
“Finding children’s swim class schedules on Richard Cox’s phone is both alarming and frightening,” he told the outlet.
“It was the Board of Supervisors’ policy that allowed this to happen and continues to allow it to happen today. Biological males do not belong in girls’ and women’s locker rooms, period — it is that simple,” said Herrity, the only board member to respond to a request for comment on the issue.
The women’s locker room at Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington County, where Cox is accused of exposing himself. Courtesy Mariah Burton NelsonCox is a Tier III sex offender — the most serious type, which requires a lifetime registration, according to court documents. He was first placed on the registry in 1998, records show.
He was arrested in December for allegedly spying on women while naked in the female changing rooms at Arlington’s swimming center, which shares facilities with Washington-Liberty High School.
Arlington Public Schools allows people to use locker rooms and bathrooms of their choice based on their chosen gender identity.
He’s had recent run-ins with law enforcement for similar acts going back several months before his arrest, leading to multiple complaints.
Cox was hit with 29 total charges related to the sex-crime spree since 2024, according to jail records.






