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Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is seeking to take control of a dismissed Fairfax County indecent exposure case involving a registered sex offender who later faced similar allegations in Arlington.
In a Feb. 11 letter, Miyares directed Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano to transfer files involving Richard Kenneth Cox to the attorney general’s Criminal Division. Miyares argued that authorities had not sufficiently investigated two Fairfax incidents involving Cox.
Fairfax prosecutors responded that they have no active criminal case to transfer.
The dispute centers on an allegation from June 10, 2024, at the Planet Fitness at 11001 Lee Highway in Fairfax City. After a complainant reported the incident, a magistrate issued a warrant charging Cox with indecent exposure.
A judge dismissed the charge when the witness who initiated the complaint failed to appear at the first court hearing. The dismissal became final during a July 25, 2024, adjudicatory hearing in Fairfax County General District Court.
Cox was later barred from Oakmont Rec Center following a Nov. 3, 2024, visit. Miyares said the visit violated registration restrictions prohibiting Cox from having contact with children at a gym or athletic facility operated by a local government.
Fairfax County police investigated the Oakmont incident but said they found no criminal violation.
“Community safety is the primary obligation of law enforcement,” Miyares wrote to Descano. He accused the prosecutor of failing to examine the allegations and undermining public safety.
Commonwealth’s Attorney spokesperson Laura Birnbaum said prosecutors never had an opportunity to participate in the Oakmont matter. She accused Miyares of misrepresenting Virginia court procedures and using fear to gain political advantage.
Miyares, a Republican, is running for a second term as attorney general.
Cox is now facing seven charges in Arlington County General District Court. They include three counts of indecent exposure, three counts of loitering at a school after a sex conviction and one identity-theft charge.
One indecent exposure count stems from an alleged Oct. 21 incident in a girls’ locker room at Washington-Liberty High School. The alleged offenses span Oct. 21 through Dec. 6, when Cox was arrested at Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center.
The Arlington cases have raised concerns among parents and drawn attention from the Arlington County Republican Party following reports that Cox entered the high school bathroom after identifying as transgender. Court records list Cox’s gender as female on the most recent Arlington charges.
Fairfax court records show Cox previously faced charges of possessing child pornography, violating probation and failing to register as a sex offender. Cox pleaded guilty to the child pornography and probation charges, while the registration charge was dismissed in 2021.