School Cannot Force Students To Use Preferred Pronouns, Federal Appeals Court Rules
'Enclaves of totalitarianism'
'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.
RELATED: 2 boys were filmed by a girl in the boys' school locker room. The school punished the BOYS.
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.”
RELATED: Trans lawmaker says conservatives are the 'weird' ones
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.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
The Biden Education Department Burned $100M On ‘Anti-Racist’ Social Workers And DEI For K-12 Schools
The Biden administration’s Department of Education threw away over $100 million on university grant funding to train K-12 social workers in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideology, “anti-racism,” and critical race theory. According to a Wednesday report from Parents Defending Education (PDE), the Education Department awarded $100,964,880 to 26 colleges and universities for the far-left […]Exclusive: At Least 32 Rhode Island School Districts Lie To Parents About Children’s Gender Dysphoria
Allowing children to 'socially transition' at school pushes many of them toward seeking medical interventions like genital mutilation.Exclusive: Missouri school district accused of setting hiring quotas based on race, not merit
A Missouri school district has allegedly set race-based hiring quotas, according to a Thursday complaint from Parents Defending Education obtained by Blaze News.
PDE accused Kansas City Public Schools of "alter[ing] their hiring practices to hire educators based on race," citing the district's website and its Blueprint 2030 Strategic Plan.
'Despicable pathway of prioritizing race over merit.'
The district's 17-page document outlined its various commitments, listing its top goal for its workforce as "increas[ing] our teachers of color to 40% by 2025 and achiev[ing] a goal of 45% teachers of color by 2030."
KCPS stated that it would achieve this target through five strategies:
1. Develop diverse and robust career pathways for non-certified staff and provide increased guidance and resources for equitable access.
2. Build and strengthen the KCPS student pipeline of future educators through programs and pathways by establishing a "Grow Your Own" student pipeline, providing tutoring and scholarship opportunities for teacher certification programs/assessments.
3. Maintain diversity recruiting partnerships, and establish targeted recruiting initiatives with Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Servicing Institutions (HSIs) and the Historic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACUs).
4. Evaluate and adjust the hiring process with a core focus on improving equitable and diverse hiring practices. Create a culturally responsive, equity-based interview tool.
5. Deploy intuitive and adaptable engagement strategies and supports to increase teacher retention on a continuous basis.
KCPS' website states that the district is committed to "identifying inherent biases in our employment and promotion processes and protocols" and "providing implicit bias and other equity-focused trainings for staff."
The district boasts that more than 1,200 of its employees have participated in "our implicit bias training."
"Equity is at the center of our mission and vision of success for all. We will flourish when all of our students, staff and stakeholders authentically operate with equity at the core of our vision for success for all," KCPS' website reads.
PDE filed a complaint with the Kansas City Area Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requesting that the agency open an investigation into the district "for employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act."
"Kansas City Public Schools outlines four commitments in their long-term strategic plan, one of which is solely dedicated to 'people-talented workforce and strong relationships,'" PDE wrote in a letter to the commission. "However, many of the mechanisms by which the District intends to meet these goals includes implementing hiring quotas directly related to an educator's race, as opposed to their merit."
Caroline Moore, the vice president of PDE, told Blaze News, "Kansas City Public Schools is following the despicable pathway of prioritizing race over merit in their hiring and retention practices."
"How unfortunate that teachers in the district are promoted based on their race, at the expense of all students and their future endeavors," Moore continued. "It's demoralizing to watch from afar. No student or teacher should face discrimination in a public school."
Blaze News reached out to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to confirm receipt of PDE's request.
Andrea Baran, the regional attorney for the commission's St. Louis District, responded, "Pursuant to federal statute and regulations, the Commission may not make public any information it receives pursuant to its investigative authority."
"Therefore we cannot confirm or deny receipt of any complaint or information from Parents Defending Education or any other entity," Baran concluded.
KCPS did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Today's top stories
www.theblaze.com