A Houston man pled guilty on Aug. 4 in federal court to child sex abuse crimes involving multiple minor victims in Maryland. Dazhon Darien, 34, formerly of Baltimore, admitted to sexually exploiting eight minors and pleaded guilty to the charge of sexual exploitation of a child.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Kelly O. Hayes, Darien coerced Minor Victim 1—who was 15 and then 16 at the time—on five occasions between April 2023 and June 2024 into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the production and transmission of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The plea agreement states that Darien used CashApp to pay Minor Victim 1 for these videos and also exploited seven other minors aged between 14 and 17. Authorities said he stored these videos on his cellphones and internet-based accounts before moving from Maryland to Texas around June 2024.
Darien faces a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years and up to thirty years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a minor. Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 11 a.m.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation nationwide through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local agencies. The project focuses on locating offenders who exploit children as well as identifying victims.
Hayes commended both the Federal Bureau of Investigation Baltimore Field Office led by Special Agent Jimmy Paul and Chief Robert McCullough’s Baltimore County Police Department for their investigative work. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow is prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland prosecutes federal crimes, handles civil cases on behalf of the United States government, collects debts owed to it, employs over two hundred personnel across several divisions including civil and criminal units, serves nearly six million residents statewide, enhances quality-of-life through justice administration efforts, counts alumni among prominent government leaders, and operates under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice, according to its official website.