John Cox - Repeat Sex Offender - Raped 6 year old in Restroom

He cried. He whined. His lips quivered and he plead guilty
to raping a 6 year old boy in the restroom while on parole
for doing the same thing to a young girl.

The boy's parents sat stoically in court. As the boy's mother read a statement to the court, Cox's lips quivered.

"I hate him with every ounce of my being," she said. She would never forgive him, and "he should never be allowed to be free in society."

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
..... Sarah Tofte

In a solemn, mostly empty courtroom yesterday, the stranger accused of raping a young boy nearly two years ago at a local hotel was sent to state prison for 7 to 9 years — a seemingly short sentence even to the judge who imposed it.

John Cox, 40, of Waltham appeared nervous, at times crying, as he pleaded guilty to raping a 6-year-old boy at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis in May 2006. He was already a Level 3 registered sex offender and was on probation for a similar assault at the time of the Hyannis incident. Under state law, a Level 3 sex offender is considered at highest risk to commit another sexual assault.

"The guidelines are woefully inadequate," Judge Richard Connon said from the bench about the sentencing guidelines in the case. Although the maximum sentence for child rape is life in prison, the sentencing guidelines for Cox's case were only 5 to 7 years, said prosecutor Sharon Thibeault, who asked for 10 to 12 years in prison.

Cox had pleaded guilty to at least one other similar assault, a 1997 child rape in Fitchburg, when he lured a young girl into the boiler room of a community center and forced her to perform oral sex on him.

In that case, he got 5 years in state prison and 10 years probation. While out, he raped the boy in Hyannis.

Connon noted such cases are "extremely difficult for the family of the victim," hinting the sentence he imposed stemmed, in part, from the plea that spared the boy a traumatic trial.

In 2006, the boy's father was in town from Connecticut for a convention. The boy, his mother and his sister went to the pool at the hotel. The boy went into the pool-side men's bathroom to change clothes. His mom and sister waited outside.

"I have something really bad to tell you that happened in the bathroom," the boy said when he finally emerged after 20 minutes.

Bent down on one knee, Cox had performed oral sex on the boy while he fondled himself, Cox admitted in court.

Because the boy reported it immediately, police were able to gather semen samples from the crime scene.

Investigators first believed another boy was a suspect, but that child volunteered a DNA sample, which did not match. The DNA from the crime scene was run through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). More than a year after the crime, CODIS matched the sample to Cox, whose DNA was in the system from his previous rape case.

"This is a real example of how the CODIS system works," Thibeault said.

Cox also fit the description given by the victim, and credit card charges at a nearby store placed him in the area around the time of the rape.

Cox also pleaded guilty to lewd behavior and was sentenced to 5 years probation for that charge. The state can ask for a so-called sexually dangerous person civil trial to confine Cox to a state treatment center after his prison term is up.

He also must reimburse medical and psychiatric costs for the victim and his family. In one recent unrelated civil case in Barnstable, two anonymous victims won a $1.5 million judgment against their grandfather, who had sexually abused them.

Sexual assaults against kids by strangers are rare — perpetrators are more often relatives or others with regular access to a child, according to experts and state crime statistics.

A neatly dressed white man of medium height and build with dark hair, Cox is unremarkable in appearance.

"He is everybody's neighbor, everybody's coworker," said Barnstable police Detective Sgt. John Murphy Jr., who came to court with the lead investigator in the case, Barnstable police Detective Joseph Cairns.

Cox's attorney, Timothy Bradl, declined to comment.

No one appeared in court to support Cox, though his parents and wife had been at previous court appearances.

The boy's parents sat stoically in court. As the boy's mother read a statement to the court, Cox's lips quivered.

"I hate him with every ounce of my being," she said. She would never forgive him, and "he should never be allowed to be free in society."

Her voice breaking, she cried as she talked about her son's strength in coming forward.

"It is because of his bravery that there is justice," she said.

13% of all new sex crimes are committed by
registered sex offenders.
Currently registered sex offenders are
one fifth of one percent of the population


0.2% of the population is committing 13%
of all NEW sex crimes
per Sarah Tofte