Debate over gendered spaces in Arlington Public Schools has erupted following the arrest of a sex offender accused of exposing themselves in multiple girls’ locker rooms.
The school system is tightening security measures at its pools in response to Richard Kenneth Cox reportedly loitering while naked around women and girls after hours on APS property.
Cox was arrested on Dec. 6 at Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center — but multiple complaints of incidents at Washington-Liberty High School and Wakefield High School date back to at least September, according to reporting from WJLA and Fox 5.
Cox reportedly identified as transgender to pool employees, though locker room users who spoke to local TV stations said the individual’s outward appearance did not match that gender identity.
In addition to installing signs asking patrons to “cover intimate body areas,” APS is currently implementing ID checks for anyone accessing an aquatic facility after hours, Superintendent Francisco Durán announced Thursday.
This change, which “will be in place no later than the end of February,” will check IDs against a national sex offender database, mirroring APS policy at pools during the school day.
“In APS, we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting everyone, fostering a safe, caring and inclusive environment in all of our facilities,” Durán said.
Starkly divided opinions emerged last week as many parents and students hurled concerns at School Board members. Speakers debated both the school system’s handling of this particular situation and broader APS policy on transgender and nonbinary students.
Mariah Burton Nelson said that more than 200 people have contacted her since she published a Substack column last week taking aim at the current APS non-discrimination policy.
“Dr. Durán and Board, respectfully, girls and women are being overlooked in APS efforts to protect the safety of students and community,” she said. “Covering intimate body areas is not practical or sufficient. Girls and women are not safe in the presence of any naked men. That’s why we have two separate locker rooms.”
Some online court records list Cox’s gender as “male,” while others list it as “other.”
Other speakers echoed arguments from the local LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Arlington — which has argued that APS and its systems failed residents by allowing a registered sex offender to access a public locker room.
“The issue isn’t, ‘the horrible person could have been trans,'” said an APS student who identified as nonbinary. “The issue is that a literal, convicted sex offender was allowed in a public space around children and the general public. Do not blame the trans community in Arlington for these horrible actions.”
School Board Chair Mary Kadera said she first heard about this issue during an open office hours in September.
“I heard from a member of the community who had concerns and shared their experience,” Kadera said. “Prompt action was taken based on the community member’s feedback.”
APS installed signage reminding pool patrons to be considerate of others’ privacy, cover themselves, close shower curtains and “follow all locker room etiquette guidance.
Kadera said county staff didn’t know Cox was a sex offender. Upon discovery of that fact, she said, APS personnel “immediately prohibited the offender from accessing any APS aquatic centers” and notified police and the county.
Before that happened, however, Cox is alleged to have committed numerous offenses between Oct. 11 to Dec. 2, according to court records.
In interviews with other media outlets, parents said pool staff were aware of Cox’s actions but failed to remove Cox because there were no clear policy violations.
“I want to be extremely clear — this is about a sex offender’s inappropriate and indecent exposure in a locker room,” Kadera said. “The bottom line is that any individual must adhere to our policies and standards for safe conduct.”
Many speakers agreed with Kadera’s assessment, connecting criticisms of APS policy to a broader perceived hostility toward transgender people.
“I am deeply alarmed and unsettled by the claims that some in our community are raising connecting this incident to APS commitment to non-discrimination for transgender students and staff,” one parent said. “The gender identity of the person who entered the pool locker room is completely irrelevant to this conversation, and I think this bears repeating.”
Another speaker called the school system’s current policy “a roadmap, a beacon and a shield” for transgender students.
“To be transgender in our society is to say, ‘I am the strongest and the bravest among us. I am willing to stand up even while being vilified, and say I am me, and you can’t make me anyone but me,'” said Deborah Waldron. “And instead of celebrating this bravery, we run scared.”
Numerous LGBTQ+ advocates packed an Arlington County Board meeting last month, demanding more protections for transgender people following President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting gender identity and “gender ideology.”
However, critics including James “Vell” Rives — who earned about 14% of the vote in a campaign for School Board last year — maintain that current APS policy goes too far.
Rives called for an emergency policy establishing “distinct and separate restroom and changing facilities for females and males.”
“There has been much public criticism of county and APS employees’ handling of these incident, but are they really at fault here?” he said. “APS policy and procedure grants access to facilities based on gender identity, a concept which has no definitions or limits.”
Cox faces numerous charges of indecent exposure, loitering at a school after a sex conviction, indecent liberties with a child and being on school grounds after a sex offense, court records show. The suspect’s next hearing is scheduled for March 3.
