Darran Joyner, a 33-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl on multiple occasions. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Joyner was found guilty by a Superior Court jury on July 8, 2025, of seven felony charges, which included several counts of first- and second-degree child sexual abuse. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Todd Edelman ordered that Joyner be placed under supervision for 10 years after his release and that he register as a sex offender.
According to evidence presented during the trial, the victim was spending Memorial Day weekend with Joyner and his girlfriend in May 2023. On May 28, Joyner’s girlfriend discovered him with his hand inside the front of the victim’s pants while they were all in bed together. Later that day, Joyner sent text messages to the victim asking her to lie about what had happened and questioning if she wanted him to touch her further. He then raped her after sending these messages. The following day, the victim reported the abuse to her mother. DNA evidence collected from the victim matched Joyner. The victim also testified that this incident was not isolated; she described previous assaults by Joyner at his residence in Washington, D.C.
Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department joined U.S. Attorney Pirro in announcing the sentence.
In their statement about the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Interim Chief Carroll expressed appreciation for those involved in investigating and prosecuting the case: "They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Victim Advocates Maria Sanchez-Garcia and Johnny Da Silva; Paralegals Nancy Murillo and Veronica Yale; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Folse and Richard Kelley, who investigated and prosecuted the case."
