Houston Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Exploitation Charges

Baltimore, Maryland - A Houston man pled guilty in federal court, today, to child sex abuse crimes.

Dazhon Darien, 34, formerly of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty to sexually exploiting a child. Darien admitted that he sexually exploited eight minor victims.

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

According to his guilty plea, on five occasions, between April 2023, and June 2024, Darien persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced Minor Victim 1, age 15 and 16, respectively, at the time, 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 ages 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.

Darien faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a minor. Sentencing is set for Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 11 a.m.

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.

# # #