Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
Baltimore, Maryland – Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland filed a federal criminal complaint charging Dazhon Darien, 32, of Baltimore, with sexual exploitation of a child and receiving child sexual abuse material.
Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the complaint with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department.
According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, investigators obtained search warrants for Darien’s phones and online accounts which contained child sexual abuse material. Additionally, the affidavit further describes how Darien used CashApp to pay a minor victim to send videos of himself engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Darien paid the victim for the videos between December 2023 and March 2024. The affidavit also shows that Darien received other child-sexual-abuse-material files, including some that depicted prepubescent minors.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by a criminal complaint is presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding.
If convicted, Darien faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years or a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child. Additionally, Darien could receive a mandatory minimum sentence of five years or a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for receipt of child sexual abuse material. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was brought as 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.
U.S. Attorney Barron commended the Baltimore FBI Field Office and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Goo and Paul E. Budlow who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Click the “Resources” tab on the left of the page for more information about Internet safety education.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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