A Virginia Circuit Court has dismissed criminal charges against Richard Cox, a registered sex offender who identifies as a transgender woman and who was accused of exposing himself to women and girls in female locker rooms across Northern Virginia.
In court, Cox argued that he had a right to access female-only facilities based on his gender identity, citing local policies in Fairfax and Arlington counties that allow individuals to use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their self-declared gender.
The controversy first emerged in 2024, when Cox began frequenting women’s locker rooms and changing facilities at public recreation centers and school-based aquatic facilities throughout Fairfax and Arlington counties. According to police reports and court filings, Cox used women’s locker rooms at multiple locations, including facilities located inside Arlington County high schools, where he accessed public swimming pools during community-use hours.
Women and girls subsequently reported Cox to authorities, alleging that he exposed his penis while using the facilities. The complaints prompted investigations by both Fairfax County and Arlington County law enforcement.
When questioned by police, Cox maintained that local policies permitted his use of women’s facilities. In body-camera footage obtained by local media, Cox told officers that his civil rights as a “transgender woman” entitled him to use public restrooms and changing rooms consistent with his gender identity.
As the case gained public attention, it emerged that Cox was a registered sex offender. According to the Virginia Sex Offender Registry, Cox is classified as a Tier III offender—the highest level under Virginia law—which generally requires lifetime registration and monitoring.
Court records indicate that Cox has been listed on the Virginia Sex Offender Registry since at least 1998. Public records and court filings show a lengthy criminal history, including prior child-pornography-related convictions that contributed to his status as a registered sex offender.
Arlington County authorities ultimately pursued criminal charges related to Cox’s presence near schools and youth programs, as well as allegations that he exposed himself in women’s locker rooms.
While Fairfax County police investigated complaints arising from Cox’s use of female facilities, Arlington prosecutors charged him under a Virginia statute restricting certain convicted sex offenders from loitering near schools and child-focused programs. Prosecutors alleged that Cox repeatedly entered facilities located near schools and youth activities, including school locker rooms and recreational centers, in violation of state law.
The Commonwealth also pursued charges stemming from allegations that Cox exposed himself to women and girls while using those facilities. In court, multiple women offered testimonies detailing inappropriate behavior by Cox while he was using the female facilities.
In one case, a disturbed mother said she and her 5-year-old daughter went to use a public women’s locker at an Arlington-area school after a swim class when she saw Cox touching himself while nude in a shower stall with the curtain open. In another, a different woman said that she and her two young daughters were at the Barcroft Sports and Fitness Center for a gymnastics class when they found Cox naked in the girls’ locker room.
A 17-year-old lifeguard who worked at one of the Arlington pools said she also witnessed Cox naked in a school locker room.
During the hearings, Cox reportedly reprimanded the prosecutor for “misgendering” him, and attempted to have the judge order the prosecution to refer to him using feminine pronouns. The judge declined.
Cox’s attorneys challenged the indictments, arguing that the “loitering” statute relied upon by prosecutors was unconstitutional.
On June 2, Arlington County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Lopez agreed, dismissing the indictments after concluding that the law was unconstitutionally vague.
In his ruling, Lopez found that the statute criminalized “loitering” within 100 feet of schools and child day programs for certain registered sex offenders, but failed to clearly define what conduct constituted loitering. The court concluded that the law did not provide adequate notice of what behavior was prohibited and could result in arbitrary or inconsistent enforcement.
The ruling is significant because it did not merely address how the statute was applied in Cox’s case. Instead, the court found that the statute itself was constitutionally defective.
The Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office has appealed the decision, and the case is now headed to the Virginia Court of Appeals. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones is expected to represent the Commonwealth during the appeal.
Separate from the dismissed indictments, Cox continues to face additional legal troubles in both Arlington and Fairfax counties.
At the time of his arrest in 2024, Cox was found to be in possession of child sexual abuse material, and investigators found schedules on his phone pertaining to girls’ gymnastics and swimming classes at the very recreation centers he was known to frequent.
Cox was recently convicted by a jury on the charges involving possession of child pornography.
Separately, Cox is also facing a sexual-assault charge connected to allegations dating back to 1988. The complainant told local media that recent reporting about Cox’s use of women’s locker rooms prompted her to come forward and report the decades-old allegation to police.
That Fairfax County case remains active and is continuing through the court system. Cox has not been convicted of the sexual-assault allegation, and the charge remains pending.
For now, Cox remains in custody at the Arlington County jail as prosecutors pursue their appeal and the remaining criminal cases proceed through Virginia’s courts.
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