Virginia AG alleges Fairfax County prosecutor engaged in 'weaponized incompetence' over transgender cases and lax bail policies

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares released a 33-page report Friday accusing Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano of "weaponized incompetence" in handling several high-profile cases, including a sex-offender matter tied to a transgender defendant and a 3-year-old’s abduction at Fair Oaks Mall near Dulles International Airport. The document portrays Descano’s office as having retooled prosecutorial policies in a way Miyares says erodes victims’ rights and public safety, and it ties those shifts to specific cases that drew national attention.

Miyares characterized Descano’s approach as lax and politically driven, citing changes that, in the GOP attorney general’s view, curb enforcement of mandatory minimum sentences and relax cash-bail requirements for repeat offenders. The report maps a pattern across several prosecutions and contends that Descano’s office repeatedly violated Brady and discovery obligations by withholding exculpatory evidence from defense teams. It also alleges a broader failure to uphold constitutional duties in Fairfax County, a Democratic stronghold in the commonwealth.

A central focus of Miyares’s findings is the case involving Richard Cox, a convicted sex offender who recently identified as transgender in a case involving indecent exposure. Cox has a lengthy police history in Arlington and Fairfax counties dating back to 1992, including an early charge of indecent liberties with a child. In 2006, Cox was barred from a public library after lingering in the children’s section with a laptop, and later authorities recovered a computer from a van and found a folder labeled "CP" containing child pornography. As Cox approached the end of probation in 2023, a probation officer warned him to comply with termsof supervision and avoid libraries, community centers and similar venues. Cox later identified as transgender in court filings and asserted that gender presentation changes could complicate supervision. Descano’s office ultimately declined to participate in the prosecution of the indecent-exposure charge, and the case was dropped. The gym involved sits in the same building as a children’s indoor playground, and Miyares noted that loitering within 100 feet of such a facility violates Cox’s probation terms.

Miyares also cited broader concerns about Fairfax’s handling of other widely watched cases, including a jogger rape on the W&OD Trail, a popular cycling and running path linking Purcellville to Washington, D.C. The suspect in that case reportedly had a long history of sexual assaults and had recently been released from custody. In 2022, a Herndon police chief told FOX-5 that Descano’s office downgraded a felony indictment to a misdemeanor in a case involving the alleged choking of one of the department’s officers, a contention Miyares said illustrated a pattern of diminished accountability under Descano.

The report also called out past legal norms, arguing that Descano prohibited enforcement of certain mandatory minimums for serious offenses and suggested the bail policy favored recidivists over public safety. It asserts that Descano repeatedly engaged in what Miyares described as Brady and discovery violations, wherein the defense is not provided with exculpatory information in a timely manner. The document further asserted that Descano may have violated Article I, Section 8A of the Virginia Constitution, which concerns the rights of crime victims and the state’s obligations to uphold them.

In a sign of the political stakes surrounding the dispute, Miyares, a Republican, criticized Descano’s record while noting he is running for reelection against former Del. Jerrauld "Jay" Jones, a Democrat from Norfolk. Miyares said, "Justice isn’t optional. And our laws are not suggestions." The Fairfax County casework cited by Miyares arrived as Gov. Glenn Youngkin weighed in on the matter, publicly pressing for a closer review of how local prosecutors have handled high-profile cases under Descano’s oversight.

Descano’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The release of the report comes as Miyares tries to bolster support ahead of the commonwealth’s election cycle, highlighting an ongoing debate over prosecutorial discretion and public safety. The report’s findings, while disputed by Descano’s allies, add to a broader national discussion about how prosecutors exercise discretion and how such decisions affect victims and communities.

The two sides have engaged in a public war over prosecutorial strategy in Fairfax County for years, with Descano arguing that his policies prioritize risk-based sentencing and individualized justice, while Miyares contends the approach undermines the rule of law and endangers the public. The report’s release also feeds into a larger national conversation about transparency in prosecution and the balance between reform and accountability.