Virginia’s attorney general has accused a prosecutor of neglect, as a male sex offender who claimed to identify as female to enter women’s locker rooms faces no charges in Fairfax County despite allegations that he exposed himself to little girls and kept child pornography, as well as a schedule of children’s swimming schedules on his phone.
Virginia’s Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, commented on the case involving 58-year-old sex offender Richard Cox in a Monday X post. He called out Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, who is a Democrat and a former federal prosecutor.
“Let’s be clear — Richard Cox was hunting little girls in Fairfax County,” Miyares wrote. “What is it going to take for Descano to do his job?”
On Friday, Miyares released an investigative report accusing Descano’s office of a pattern of “misconduct, neglect of victims’ rights, constitutional violations, and dangerous prosecutorial policies.” Miyares recommended that the Virginia General Assembly expand his office’s ability to criminally prosecute sex crimes against minors and address violations related to the state’s sex offender registry.
While Fairfax County has not charged Cox, the neighboring Arlington County is prosecuting the registered sex offender for his alleged crimes, WJLA reports.
“Justice isn’t optional, and our laws are not suggestions. Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano has betrayed the rule of law and the very people he swore to protect, turning prosecutorial discretion into deliberate, weaponized incompetence,” Miyares stated. “The oath prosecutors take to uphold the law and protect victims is sacred. It demands courage, integrity, and perseverance in the pursuit of justice.”
“That means treating victims with fairness, dignity, and respect, and enforcing the laws passed by the people’s elected representatives. When a prosecutor refuses to do that, victims are denied justice and the public loses faith in the very system meant to protect them,” Miyares continued. “This is dangerous, this is wrong, and it cannot continue.”
Descano’s office did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
Cox reportedly exposed himself to women and girls at two high schools and an Arlington recreation center, with prosecutors arguing in court last week that the sex offender tracked children in Arlington County and Fairfax County.
One of the locker rooms that Cox entered in Arlington was at Washington Liberty High School, where Jen McDougal and her then-9-year-old daughter encountered him last September. According to the mother, the sex offender stood “completely naked” in the locker room, showing no regard for the other locker room patrons, many of whom were young girls.
An Arlington police detective testified in court on Thursday that she found child pornography and children’s swim class schedules at the Fairfax County recreation center on Cox’s phone, which prosecutors highlighted as evidence of his motivation for wanting to access the women’s locker room, WJLA notes.
The police in Fairfax County have not charged the sex offender in connection with his visits to three Fairfax County recreation centers, where he allegedly exposed himself in front of women and girls.
In a statement, Fairfax County police claimed that it investigated Cox’s actions and found “no probable cause to support charges in Fairfax County at this time.”
The Fairfax County Police Department and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which oversees the police department, did not respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
In addition to entering women’s locker rooms in Fairfax County, videos obtained by WJLA showed that Cox visited other places where children were present, such as “Our Special Harbor Spray Park” and “Chessie’s Big Backyard” playground.
Registered sex offenders in Virginia are typically prohibited from coming within a certain proximity to children, and sex offenders in the state are usually prohibited from loitering or residing within 100 feet of a playground, park or other child-related areas.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
