ARLINGTON, Virginia — The trial for Richard Cox, a registered intercourse offender, is ready to begin on Monday. Cox is going through expenses associated to getting into feminine locker rooms and allegedly touching himself in entrance of kids. The organic male was ready to enter the services by claiming to be transgender.
Richard Cox appeared earlier than Judge Daniel T. Lopez in Virginia’s seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court for a motions listening to on Friday to resolve whether or not the arrest was lawful, whether or not to suppress evidence from the seizure of Cox’s cellphone, and if media cameras could be allowed in court docket in the course of the trial.
Richard Cox (Arlington County Adult Detention Center)
Cox has filed a movement for self-representation, which means each Cox and the court-appointed legal professional introduced arguments, and questioned the officers in the course of the proceedings. Oftentimes main the Judge to scold Cox for not following process, and appears of bewilderment from these testifying.
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The protection wished to deem Cox’s arrest as illegal so as to throw out evidence obtained from Cox’s cellphone in the course of the arrest.
The Commonwealth introduced physique digicam footage from the 2 officers who detained Cox on the Barcroft Recreation Center on Dec. 6, 2024. Testimony from one of the officers on scene revealed detectives already had Cox on their radar following quite a few complaints from recreation facilities and swimming pools throughout Northern Virginia relating to Cox strolling round nude for hours in feminine locker rooms within the presence of kids.
On the day of the arrest, officers arrived on the middle at 6:00 p.m. Body digicam footage reveals they waited over an hour for Cox to exit the feminine locker room. One of the officers, who’s a ten-year police veteran, mentioned it was taking so lengthy for Cox to exit the locker room, the officer was ready to return to his patrol cruiser and eat a burrito.
Barcroft Rec Center workers had been posted exterior the locker room to forestall different females from getting into. While the 2 law enforcement officials waited for Cox to exit, workers entered the locker room a number of instances to examine on Cox, and located him in “various stages of undress,” whether or not within the toilet stall or within the bathe.
Once all of the females had exited the locker room and Cox had failed to exit for over an hour, officers entered the locker room to current him with a ban discover from the Rec Center. Body cam footage reveals they discovered Cox standing bare within the bathe, with out the water working. Cox then proceeded to give the officers a faux title once they requested Cox to establish himself.
The physique cam footage confirmed Cox then took one other 10 minutes to get dressed whereas officers waited within the locker room. Once absolutely dressed, officers cuffed Cox and mentioned they might detain the defendant for extra questioning.
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Officers testified they believed they’d a proper to detain Cox due to Ms. Jordan, who recognized herself as the one who oversees all of the Arlington Rec Centers, wanting to ban Cox due to the defendant’s standing as a intercourse offender and proximity to kids. She went over how she understands Arlington County has a coverage of permitting folks to use the lavatory by which they establish with.
“I don’t want to ban him for being transgender, but for being a sex offender near children,” Ms. Jordan mentioned within the video introduced on the listening to.
Cox desires cellphone evidence, together with little one pornography, deleted
The Commonwealth is hoping to use evidence from Cox’s cellphone, which allegedly reveals Cox in possession of little one pornography and screenshots of schedules for recreation facilities throughout northern Virginia, the place Cox allegedly highlighted kids’s courses.
One of the arguments Cox made in the course of the motions listening to on Friday, was there was no manner the officers might have identified Cox was conscious the rec middle held kids’s courses, which means they may not arrest him for being inside 100 ft of a toddler beneath 13.
One officer testified to seeing “hundreds” of kids in courses within the hour he was on the Barcroft Rec Center ready for Cox to exit the feminine locker room.
Officers mentioned they took Cox’s telephone as a result of it’s normal process to search a suspect and catalog all their possessions in a transparent plastic bag when they’re being transported. One, for the security of the officer, and second, for the security of the suspect. If a suspect had been to injure themselves whereas within the backseat of a police automobile, the officers could be liable.
At one level within the listening to, Cox requested the police officer, “Who told you to confiscate my phone?”
“Nobody instructed me to do my job properly,” the officer responded.
The court docket did discover there was adequate possible trigger to arrest Cox for giving false data and for committing a felony at a county facility by being a registered intercourse offender lower than 100 ft from kids. The choose did say the loitering cost could be for a jury to resolve.
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Irate choose denies digicam entry in court docket
The choose denied digicam entry due to testimony from minors. The Sinclair media group had despatched a letter, not a proper movement, asking to enable a digicam within the court docket to live-stream the trial. Judge Lopez mentioned different information retailers might file official motions to request cellphone, laptop computer, and digicam entry, however he would deny them.
The Commonwealth mentioned they’d no opinion on cameras being allowed in court docket. The protection, nevertheless, mentioned they wished for the choose to ban cameras in court docket due to the case involving sexual assault expenses and case getting used for political functions within the newest election in Virginia.
The choose denied entry due to the delicate nature of the case and the involvement of testimony from two minors. The court docket decided this restriction is critical to guarantee a good and protected trial for the victims and jurors, significantly given the high-profile nature of the case in the course of the Virginia gubernatorial election.
One noticeable distinction is how Judge Lopez addressed Cox. Previous court docket appearances had been derailed by Cox insisting to be referred to as by most well-liked pronouns of she/her. Cox, who’s a organic male, had scolded Judge Lopez for not utilizing most well-liked pronouns the primary time they appeared collectively. Judge Lopez profusely apologized, and so they agreed on “Ms. Cox.”
On Friday’s motions listening to, the choose, witnesses, and the prosecutors all had been referring to Cox by organic pronouns of he/him, “the defendant,” and “Mr. Cox.”
Several instances, Judge Lopez scolded Cox for interrupting the choose, asking editorialized questions to witnesses, and talking over the general public defender, Michael Cash.
“I said I was going to treat you like a lawyer, you do not speak when I am speaking,” Judge Lopez mentioned. “Do you see Mr. Cash’s co-council badgering him? You need to sit there and be quiet.”
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The protection had hoped the motions listening to would have both thrown out the case or led to a continuation. Both of which the choose denied due to the movement listening to rulings.
The trial will proceed with jury choice beginning Monday. Cox faces 44 expenses in Arlington, together with indecent publicity, indecent liberties with a toddler, and possession of little one pornography. Cox’s expenses have been cut up, and a second trial will begin in April on a to-be-determined date.
