Pressure mounts on Virginia Dems to clearly state view on trans bathrooms after bombshell emails

Cox, 58, was thrust into the national spotlight after Virginia's Fairfax County Democratic prosecutor Steve Descano declined to prosecute Cox for charges of perversion in women's locker rooms while neighboring Arlington County, Virginia, arrested him in 2024 on similar offenses which he has faced in court in October. 

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, lambasted news that Cox - who identified himself as a transgender woman named "Riki" in emails to Arlington, Virginia, schools regarding concerns about using facilities at its semi-public aquatic center - was allegedly able to prey on young girls in the Washington suburb.

"This 'woman' - child predator Richard 'Riki' Cox - repeatedly used a girls' locker room and exposed himself to young girls," Earle-Sears said in a Friday statement. "Abigail Spanberger thinks he has the right to be there." 

"I realize this is very short notice but the issue just occurred on Friday October 25 (2024) and I need your help before I know who to vote for. I am a member of the LGBT and specifically transgender community," Cox wrote to board member Kathleen Clark.

"At no time did we knowingly admit a sex offender into our aquatics facilities," the official said.

Cox, who previously was reported to be living out of his van at one point, said transgender people are "disproportionately homeless" and must rely on county facilities like pool locker rooms to shower.

Cox said he once considered voluntarily using the unisex room but that he "wanted to feel like part of the community" and that complainants should be the ones forced to be apparently ostracized to the one-person shower.

"RSVP please and thank you," Cox said.

A second email reported by the ABC News affiliate from Cox to the board attested that Cox felt that apparent pressure for Cox to finish showering in the main locker room again sent "the message that a transgender person is a freak and I guess not normal and beautiful like everyone else."

Clark later responded, according to the affiliate, telling Cox she hoped he didn't receive "transphobic statements" from staff during the incident and should be able to use the showers and changing rooms Cox is most comfortable using.

The charges related to visits to school facilities as well as a private gym in Barcroft, Virginia.

As of January, the Arlington County, Virginia, government board was working with the county school board on formulating responses to Cox's incidents at the pool, the activist group Defending Education told Fox News Digital.

Defending Education Vice President Sarah Parshall-Perry said in a statement that as an Arlington, Virginia, resident and attorney, she was "aggrieved and incensed" by the incident.