FBI special agents on Monday arrested a man who’s accused of using artificial intelligence to impersonate the principal of Pikesville High School less than 24 hours before his trial was scheduled to begin in the case.
Dazhon Darien, 32, is now charged in U.S. District Court in Baltimore with sexual exploitation of children and receipt of child pornography. Investigators reported that they found sexually explicit images of teen boys during a search of Darien’s online accounts.
They later interviewed one teen who said Darien had contacted him over Snapchat and paid for inappropriate chats, videos and pictures, according to a criminal complaint.
The complaint alleges that there are five victims, including one who reported that he met up with Darien to engage in sexually explicit conduct at a hotel. A different teen told law enforcement he was a freshman in high school when Darien, whom he knew as “Zay,” offered to buy a sex toy if he could give it to him in person.
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Sexual exploitation of children carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Darien is the former athletic director of Pikesville High and briefly worked as a social studies teacher at Randallstown High School. The criminal complaint does not specify where the teens in the case attended school.
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After Darien’s arrest last April, students at Pikesville High described behavior they felt was inappropriate or made them feel uncomfortable. One student said Darien unfairly enforced a dress code that she thought had to do with the shape of her body.
Records obtained by The Baltimore Banner show he’d been flagged for inappropriate behavior at least once before he worked in Baltimore County schools. He resigned from a job at a Florida high school in 2015 after officials confronted him about texting a female student.
Darien appeared in federal court just before 4 p.m. Monday.
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U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin Aslan advised Darien of his rights and appointed Assistant Federal Public Defender Courtney Francik to represent him.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Goo said the government is seeking to detain Darien until his trial for the safety of the community.
Aslan ordered him to temporarily be detained and set a hearing for 3 p.m. on Thursday.
“Mr. Darien, we’ll see you on Thursday,” Aslan said. “Take care.”
Earlier on Monday, Darien showed up at 11 a.m. for a motions hearing in Baltimore County Circuit Court, where he’s charged with disturbing school operations, retaliating against a witness, stalking and related offenses.
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Without explanation, a sheriff’s deputy placed Darien in handcuffs and escorted him out of the courtroom.
When law enforcement brought him back in, Darien’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jasmine Hope, announced that her client was “just arrested on a federal warrant.”
But Hope asked to move forward with the motions hearing without her client so he could be processed and potentially released in time on Tuesday for his trial.
“I think that’s rather ambitious,” Baltimore County Circuit Judge Jan Marshall Alexander said. “I don’t think he’s going to be processed that quickly.”
Alexander then directed the parties to appear before the judge in charge of the criminal docket, Robert E. Cahill Jr., to decide whether to postpone the trial.
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Deputy State’s Attorney John Cox said he spoke with a federal prosecutor who told him that there was a 99% chance that Darien would not be processed in time.
Law enforcement, he said, was recently able to crack an iPhone that belonged to Darien and recover significant evidence off the device.
“I think a postponement is needed in the interests of justice,” Cox said.
Cahill agreed to delay the trial.
About the Education Hub
This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.
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