A federal grand jury has indicted a man accused of using artificial intelligence to create a recording that purported to be the principal of Pikesville High School making racist and antisemitic remarks on 10 additional counts related to alleged sexual abuse.
Dazhon Darien, 32, had been charged in U.S. District Court in Baltimore with two counts: one count of sexual exploitation of children, and one count of receipt of child pornography.
The indictment returned this week contains the following 12 counts:
- Sexual exploitation of children (five counts)
- Coercion and enticement of a child (two counts)
- Receipt of child pornography (one count)
- Possession of child pornography (four counts)
His attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Andrew Szekely, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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Federal prosecutors allege that Darien persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced two teens to take part in sexual activity and paid one of them to make explicit videos. They also assert he possessed child sexual abuse material.
FBI special agents last week arrested Darien after he showed up for a hearing in Baltimore County Circuit Court, where he’s charged with disturbing school operations, retaliating against a witness, stalking and related offenses.
Darien is the former athletic director at the high school. Baltimore County Police allege he used AI to make the clip of Principal Eric Eiswert, which quickly spread across social media in January 2024.
Eiswert is now the principal of Sparrows Point Middle School in Edgemere.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin Aslan ordered Darien to be detained until trial after ruling there was no combination of release conditions that could guarantee the safety of the community.
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