Pikesville High School’s former athletic director was sentenced Tuesday morning to federal prison for child sex-abuse crimes.
In August, Dazhon Darien pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting eight minors.
Darien, 34, formerly of Baltimore, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release, for sexually exploiting a child. Darien also admitted that he sexually exploited seven other minor victims between the ages of 14 and 17, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar considered several factors before calling the defendant a threat, a risk and dangerous.
Federal prosecutors cited court documents as indicating that Darien persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced a 15-year-old to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing and transmitting child sexual abuse material on five occasions between April 2023 and June 2024.
Prosecutors said Darien then used Cash App to pay the victim for the production and transmission of videos. Prosecutors said Darien stored the videos on his cellphones and in internet-based accounts.
Darien apologized in court before sentencing, his voice wavering at times. He tearfully told the court that he suffered emotional, physical, mental and sexual abuse throughout his life. He also said no one deserves to be abused, exploited or taken advantage of, and while in prison, he will focus on his mistakes and develop a plan to make an impact with his life.
Darien lived in Maryland until about June 2024, before he moved to Texas.
Federal agents arrested Darien in January 2025 as he appeared in court on separate state charges.
In the state case, Darien was arrested in April 2024 on accusations that he used artificial intelligence to manipulate the voice of former Pikesville High School principal Eric Eiswert on an audio clip that contained a litany of hate speech.
In April 2025, Darien agreed to take an Alford plea for disturbing the operation of a school for making a fake recording, which meant he accepted a plea agreement without admitting guilt. The judge sentenced him to four months at the detention center.
At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, the judge took the state proceedings into account and said he believed Darien suffered from an abusive childhood and depression and that he abused prescription drugs and alcohol.
The judge remained concerned, saying the totality of Darien’s story reveals a disordered attraction to children in a sexual way and that Darien “still continues to lack real insight into the nature of the offenses and the harm that flows from them.”
The judge wants Darien to be sent to a facility that has a sex offender treatment program.
None of the victims in the child sex abuse case attended the school where Darien had worked.
