The man accused of using artificial intelligence to create a racist recording to defame a Baltimore County high school principal was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly sexually exploiting boys, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland announced Thursday.

Dazhon Darien, 32, the former athletic director at Pikesville High School, is charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, two counts of coercion and enticement of a child, one count of receipt of child sexual abuse material, and four counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, prosecutors said.

Between July 2023 and July 2024, Darien “persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor male to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing and transmitting child sexual abuse material,” according to the indictment.

In addition, prosecutors allege Darien enticed two male minors to engage in prohibited sexual conduct, and he possessed child sexual abuse material in internet-based accounts and on one digital device.

An attorney for Darien could not immediately be reached for comment.

If convicted, Darien, of Houston, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison for each of the five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for each of the two counts of coercion and enticement of a child.

In addition, Darien could see a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for the count of receiving child sexual abuse material, and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each of the four counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.

Federal agents originally arrested Darien on Jan. 27, when he was scheduled to appear in Baltimore County Circuit Court for a hearing in his state case. Darien is accused of using AI technology to develop a fake recording of then-Pikesville High School principal Eric Eiswert making derogatory and racist comments toward Black students, Jewish people and teachers.

Eiswert filed a suit in Baltimore County Circuit Court on Jan. 7, alleging former athletic director Darien and other school officials disseminated the fake audio clip to students and others “causing it to spread rapidly” on social media and receive “millions of views,” according to court documents.

In state court, Darien is charged with theft of $1,500 up to $25,000, disturbing school operations, retaliating against a witness, stalking and influencing or intimidating a juror. He was scheduled for a bench trial in early January, but a judge postponed the case because of his federal charges.

In the federal case, prosecutors allege Darien paid boys for images on several occasions and met with one for a sexual encounter at least once.

“While working for the Baltimore County Public School System, first as a teacher, then as an athletic director, Darien sought out teenaged boys for his sexual gratification,” prosecutors wrote. “Darien used the Snapchat application to communicate with the victims and then caused them to create sexually explicit images and videos and send those to Darien. Darien saved the images and videos on his phone and iCloud account.”

Baltimore County Deputy State’s Attorney John Cox said authorities had been attempting to unlock Darien’s iPhone since confiscating it with a search warrant in March. But a machine could not unlock the passcode-protected phone until December.

Federal prosecutors said in their detention memorandum last month that investigators gained access on Nov. 27, finding 20 videos of child pornography.

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