A former athletic director who used artificial intelligence to impersonate the principal of Pikesville High School and severely damaged his reputation was sentenced Tuesday to serve 20 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting children.
Dazhon Darien, 34, now of Houston, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to one count of sexual exploitation of a child. He faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. As part of his sentence, he also received 30 years of supervised release.
Prosecutors alleged between 2023 and 2024, Darien sexually exploited at least five boys who were 14 to 17. He asked them to send him explicit photos and videos over Snapchat, according to authorities.
Law enforcement also said they discovered child sexual abuse material in his cellphones and online accounts.
Darien received national notoriety in 2024 after he used AI to create deepfake audio that make it seem like the principal at the time of Pikesville High School, Eric Eiswert, made racists and antisemitic remarks.
The clip rapidly spread online. Many community members believed that the recording was authentic and flooded the front desk with angry phone calls. More than three months later, Baltimore County Police arrested Darien, who had worked as athletic director at the school.
When Darien was awaiting trial, the FBI took him into custody after investigators uncovered evidence of his additional crimes.
Darien then entered an Alford plea in Baltimore County Circuit Court to disturbing school operations and was sentenced to four months in jail. He did not admit guilt, but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to obtain a conviction.
He’s been held in the Chesapeake Detention Facility while awaiting sentencing in the federal case.
This story will be updated.
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