Houston Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Exploiting Eight Children in Maryland
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced that Dazhon Darien, a man who formerly lived in Baltimore, Maryland, and later moved to Houston, Texas, has been sentenced in federal court. Darien, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar 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; the eight victims were between the ages of 14 and 17.
According to court documents, on five occasions between April 2023 and June 2024, Darien persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced one victim, 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. Darien then used CashApp to pay the victim for the production and transmission of the videos. 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.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced the sentence with Jimmy Paul, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Baltimore Field Office, and Robert McCullough, Chief of the Baltimore County Police Department. Hayes commended the FBI and the county police for their work on the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow is prosecuting the federal case.
The Justice Department said the case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, that marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于马里兰州 Baltimore 的 Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. 法院大楼（资料图）。本案由美国联邦检察官办公室（马里兰区）公布。Baltimore Heritage 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse in Baltimore, Maryland (file photo). This case was announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. By Baltimore Heritage, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
