Ex-Pikesville High assistant principal sues Baltimore County schools over AI deepfake

Kathryn Albert, who was the assistant principal of Pikesville High School when its athletic director used artificial intelligence to impersonate the principal and destroy his reputation, is suing the perpetrator and Baltimore County Public Schools.

Dazhon Darien, the former athletic director, created a deepfake audio in 2024 that made it sound like his principal, Eric Eiswert, uttered racist and antisemitic comments. Albert’s name was mentioned in the audio.

Though the conversation was fake, it tarnished her reputation, she alleges in the lawsuit. The top search results for her name are references to the clip, she claims, and she fears having her voice recorded.

People called for her resignation, parents and students accused her of being racist and she received online threats, according to the lawsuit.

The school system, she alleges, failed to correct the record despite proof that the recording was not real.

Albert filed her lawsuit on June 1 in Baltimore County Circuit Court, and the complaint contains counts including negligent hiring, defamation and invasion of privacy. Besides damages and attorney fees, she’s seeking a public apology.

Superintendent Myriam Rogers, Human Resources Director Homer McCall and former school system employees Zoe Waddell, Shaena Ravenell and Bobette Watts-Hitchcock are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The Law Office of Kent L. Greenberg, which represents Albert, did not return a request for comment. It’s unclear if Ravenell, Watts-Hitchcock and Waddell have retained attorneys.

In an email, Gboyinde Onijala, a spokesperson for the school system, said it did not have any additional comment on the case.

The audio deepfake spread online in January 2024, including on the Instagram page @murder_ink_bmore, which boasts more than 365,000 followers. The speaker in the clip said, “If I have to get one more complaint from one more Jew in this community, I’m going to join the other side. Kathy, I’m done.”

The public quickly concluded that Albert was the “Kathy” referenced in the clip, the lawsuit states.

For months, many members of the public believed it was an authentic recording. That’s despite the principals union’s claim that it was an AI deepfake.

More than three months later, Baltimore County Police arrested Darien in the case.

Albert transferred to Milford Mill Academy to be the supervisor of online learning in June 2024 to “get out of the public eye,” according to the lawsuit.

She limited her son’s exposure on social media, started seeing a therapist, installed security cameras and motion sensor lights around her home, and her husband slept with a baseball bat nearby, the lawsuit alleges.

While Albert blamed Darien in the lawsuit for the backlash, she also wants to hold the school system accountable for the emotional distress the situation has caused her.

A Banner investigation found that Darien made at least 29 false claims on four job applications, including on résumés submitted to the school system.

Albert referenced the Banner’s reporting in the lawsuit and claimed that the school system was grossly negligent in its hiring, retention and promotion of Darien, who briefly taught social studies in the district.

In 2025, Principal Eiswert sued the school system and others and eventually settled the case.

Darien entered an Alford plea in Baltimore County Circuit Court to disturbing school operations. That means he did not admit guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors could obtain a conviction.

Circuit Judge Jan Marshall Alexander sentenced him to serve four months in the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Meanwhile, the FBI arrested Darien on charges of sexual exploitation of children and receipt of child pornography. He’s now facing 12 counts.

Darien, 33, is set to appear back in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Aug. 4 for a re-arraignment hearing, according to court records.

In an email, Kevin Nash, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Darien is expected to plead guilty in the case. His attorney, Julie Reamy, declined to comment.

Darien is being held in the Chesapeake Detention Facility.

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