'Like they are some kind of freak': Sex offender posing as woman allegedly exposes himself in school locker rooms

A 58-year-old male registered sex offender may have claimed to identify as a woman in order to allegedly expose himself in locker rooms at public school facilities in Virginia.

Richard Kenneth Cox, who also goes by Riki Cox, is facing more than 20 charges — including indecent exposure, sex offender on school or day care property, and sex offender loiter near school/day care/park/playground — after he was accused of exposing his naked body in a female locker room at a Washington-Liberty High School pool on October 21, 2024.

'This school board candidate, now a sitting school board member, without any apparent vetting or inquiry into who this individual was, touted her record as an ally to the LGBTQ community to really secure — Richard Cox, his vote.'

Arlington Public Schools' policy allows individuals to use locker-room facilities that align with their so-called gender identity. Outside school hours, the pools at Washington-Liberty High School and Wakefield High School in the district are open to the public.

Emails obtained by Parents Defending Education via a Freedom of Information Act request and reviewed by Blaze News revealed that Cox had reached out to a current school board member to express his frustrations over the October 21 incident. He also asked how she planned to address the issue in order to secure his vote in the upcoming election.

"I am a member of the LGBT and specifically transgender community," Cox wrote to current APS school board member Kathleen Clark on October 28. "The issue is that transgender people including minors are disproportionately homeless and use places like the County swimming pools to shower. But let me be clear that this is not only an opportunity to be clean but to be and feel part of the community."

"However, solely because of complaints of a transgender person in the locker room, Washington Liberty Swimming Pool made a rule that people using the shower but not the pool must use the single, isolated locker room away from everyone else, like they are some kind of freak or something," he stated.

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Photo By Kathryn Scott Osler/Denver Post via Getty Images

Cox contended that women who object to "transgender people" using their locker-room facilities should be the ones encouraged to separate themselves by using the single locker room.

"If they cannot, then they are the ones that should be isolated before casting off me or other transgender people trying to be part of our community and not be treated like freaks," Cox added.

In a second email to Clark, Cox complained that pool staff had directed females to "use the individual changing room while I was in the full locker room."

"This is again sending the message that a transgender person is a freak and I guess not normal and beautiful like everyone else," he wrote. "There are anti-discrimination laws on both the Federal, State, and County levels including in the Schools to prevent this kind of animosity."

Clark appeared sympathetic to Cox's concerns.

"I hope that you did not experience transphobic statements from the staff. You should be able to use the showers and changing rooms that you are most comfortable using," Clark responded.

In another email obtained by PDE, Clark seemed to indicate to Assistant Superintendent Catherine Ashby that she felt misled by Cox.

"It is concerning to me that 1) he appeared to come at this from the angle that he was or represented a minor hurt by the pool decision, 2) even after rereading the pool communication back in October, I find it particularly insensitive to actual minors that may have issues with secure housing, and 3) that there is such a disconnect in our processes between the HS safety protocols and that of the pool, at the same APS facility," Clark wrote.

"I understand that has been remediated, but only after this type of situation occurred," she added. "For the LBGTQIA+ community, this type of situation sets them back years. I hope that future APS/Media comms portrays this as an isolated incident with one known criminal and does not reflect the values of the greater LBGTQIA+ community."

“You have school board members who are really running on being ‘allies’ for members of the community like this,” Kendall Tietz, an investigative reporter for PDE, told Blaze News. “I think it’s important to note that this school board candidate, now a sitting school board member, without any apparent vetting or inquiry into who this individual was, touted her record as an ally to the LGBTQ community to really secure — Richard Cox, his vote.”

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Arlington County Police handout of Richard Cox. Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

PDE reported that in January 2025, APS and the Arlington County Board worked on "talking points" for the "pool incident."

An email obtained by PDE bulleted the various talking points, including that "APS permits pool patrons access [to] restrooms and facilities that correspond to their gender identity."

APS contended that it "responded to all patron concerns related to this matter in a timely manner," which included confronting Cox and "tak[ing] appropriate and immediate action to investigate, notify law enforcement, and prevent the individual from returning to our pool facilities."

Despite being a Tier III sex offender, Cox has "visited numerous women's locker rooms in Fairfax County," according to WJLA. Video footage also captured Cox at a children's water park, though he is not allowed within 100 feet of children's areas.

A January report from WJLA revealed that Cox was charged in 1992 with knowingly and intentionally exposing his genitals to a child under 14 years old. He was also convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child.

The news outlet obtained a letter Cox wrote to the judge in 1992, in which he admitted to having "sexual problems." In a 1995 letter to a judge, he wrote, "I am aware that I suffer compulsions to expose myself in public places."

In June 2024, just months before the incident at the APS facility, he was charged with indecent exposure for allegedly exposing himself to women in a gym locker room. The charge was later dismissed.

"This incident shows exactly why private spaces for women and girls are so important," Alleigh Marré, executive director of the American Parents Coalition, told Blaze News. "Privacy and safety aren’t political; they’re basic rights. When public officials ignore biological sex and allow men into female spaces, it opens the door for abuse."

"A registered sex offender exposed himself in a women’s space, and only after that became a public relations problem did the rules change," Marré continued. "Separate spaces for men and women exist to protect everyone’s dignity and safety, and parents need to continue to their uncompromising fight to make sure these basic protections exist."

The scandal reportedly prompted APS to begin conducting identification checks against the sex offender registry. Yet it still permits males to use female restrooms and locker rooms.

Blaze News contacted Clark and the APS superintendent for comment.

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