Houston Man Sentenced for Exploiting Eight Children in Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland - A Houston man learned his fate in federal court, today, for committing child sex-abuse crimes.

U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Dazhon Darien, 34, formerly of Baltimore, 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.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD).

According to court documents, on five occasions, between April 2023 and June 2024, Darien persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced Minor Victim 1, who was only 15 when the abuse began, to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing and transmitting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Darien then used CashApp to pay Minor Victim 1 for the production and transmission of CSAM videos. Additionally, Darien admitted to sexually exploiting seven other victims who were between the ages of 14 and 17. Darien stored the exploitation videos on his cellphones and in internet-based accounts. He lived in Maryland until approximately June 2024, before moving to Texas.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, visit justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and BCPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md.

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