A man who’s accused of using artificial intelligence to impersonate the principal of Pikesville High School and destroy his reputation is scheduled this week to stand trial, three months after FBI special agents arrested him on new charges.

Dazhon Darien, 32, who split his time between Baltimore and Houston, is set to appear at 9 a.m. Monday in Baltimore County Circuit Court for jury selection. He’s charged with disturbing school operations, retaliating against a witness, stalking and related offenses.

Circuit Judge Jan Marshall Alexander is expected to preside over the trial, which court records indicate could last for one week.

Darien used AI to create a clip of Principal Eric Eiswert purportedly making racist and antisemitic comments behind closed doors, which quickly spread on Jan. 17, 2024, across social media, Baltimore County Police allege.

At the time, Darien was the athletic director at the high school. Eiswert is now the principal of Sparrows Point Middle School in Edgemere.

Police also assert that Darien approved a $1,900 payment to his roommate under the pretense that he was working as an assistant coach on the girls soccer team.

Officers arrested Darien at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport as he tried to board a flight to Houston.

A Baltimore Banner investigation revealed that Darien made at least 29 false claims on four job applications using two names. He also did not meet the minimum requirements to hold his position.

The Florida Department of Education in 2016 flagged Darien in a clearinghouse used to screen teachers that he was denied a teaching certificate because of “test or document fraud.”

Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Myriam Rogers has maintained that the system followed its hiring process.

Darien’s lead attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jasmine Hope, has called the charges a “sad attempt to criminalize conduct that is not criminal.”

In many ways, though, the stakes of the case are now much lower.

Darien was originally supposed to stand trial on Jan. 28, but the FBI arrested him one day before when he showed up to court for a motions hearing.

Law enforcement alleges that Darien victimized two teens and possessed child sexual abuse material. He’s charged in U.S. District Court in Baltimore with sexual exploitation of children, coercion and enticement of a child, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Those charges carry mandatory minimum sentences ranging from five years to 15 years in prison.

U.S. Senior District Judge James K. Bredar has put deadlines on hold in the case and ordered a status and scheduling conference on May 28 to discuss next steps.

Darien is being detained in the Chesapeake Detention Center.