Fake Racist Recording Sparks Prison Sentence In Pikesville High AI Case

PIKESVILLE, MD — The former Pikesville High School athletic director accused of using artificial intelligence to frame his then-principal accepted a plea deal Monday and was sentenced to prison, reports said.

Dazhon Darien, a 32-year-old from Baltimore, was arrested in April 2024 and accused of using AI to create a fake recording of Eric Eiswert, then principal of Pikesville High, making racist and antisemitic remarks. Eiswert never made those comments, but the fake recording spread on social media, causing him to fear for his family's safety.

WBAL-TV reported that Darien entered an Alford plea Monday and was sentenced to four months in Baltimore County prison. By entering an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt, but they acknowledge that they would have likely been convicted if they went to trial.

"It was never my intention to cause or create or spread any harm to anyone," Darien said to the court, according to The Baltimore Banner. "I just did what I thought was right based on the knowledge that I had. But at the end of the day, I made a decision and I have to live with the consequences of that decision."

Darien entered his Alford plea to one misdemeanor charge of disturbing school operations, WJZ said. WJZ reported that prosecutors dropped his charges of stalking, retaliating against a witness and theft as part of the plea deal.

Darien still has two other court actions against him. The Department of Justice filed child pornography charges against him in January. That case is still pending.

Eiswert is also suing Darien for defamation. That lawsuit was also filed this January.

WJZ said Eiswert, now the principal of Sparrows Point Middle, remembers being harassed to the point that a police car had to be parked outside his house.

"My life was forever changed," Eiswert said Monday in a prepared statement, according to WJZ. "I'm slowly rebuilding my career, but this experience will never leave me."

The Baltimore Sun reported that Baltimore County Deputy State's Attorney John Cox said the case highlighted the need for a more "adequate" charge for crimes involving AI.

"Artificial intelligence is such a new, emerging and scary thing," Darien's lead attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jasmine Hope, said while seeking a light sentence, according to The Banner. "I think this has been a lesson for every party involved here."

Cox said Darien's Alford plea showed he "was still not accepting full responsibility" for his actions, The Sun reported.

"What he did is much more blameworthy than what he was held responsible for," Cox said, according to The Sun.

Circuit Judge Jan Marshall Alexander said Darien, a Black man, harmed the legacy of those who’ve actually experienced racism and discrimination, The Banner reported.

"It is real. It happens. We live it," Alexander, who also is Black, said, according to The Banner. "But we can’t just throw it out there every time we feel like it — it’s got to be deserved."

Related:

• Child Porn Charges Filed Against Ex-Pikesville AD Accused In AI Case: Prosecutor
• Fake Racist AI Recording Sparks Defamation Lawsuit Against Ex-Pikesville High AD: Report
• Ex-Athletic Director Lied On Résumé Before AI Arrest In Baltimore County: Report
• Ex-Athletic Director Used AI To Frame Pikesville Principal: Reports