A former Palmdale Parks Department employee faces a dozen counts of federal charges for allegedly enticing a teen girl to have sex with him and coercing two teens into sending him child pornography.
Darius Desean Edwards, 21, of Palmdale, is charged with five counts of production of child pornography, five counts of receipt of child pornography and two counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, the United States Department of Justice said in a news release.
According to prosecutors, Edwards “engaged in sexual conversations with a then 16-year-old girl and requested her to produce and share with him child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of herself. Edwards received at least one video from this victim depicting CSAM” between October and December 2023.
Three months later, Edwards targeted another girl, this one 15 at the time, and requested child pornography from her.
“Edwards received at least one photo and three videos from this victim depicting CSAM,” the release said.
If convicted, Edwards faces mandatory minimum sentences of five years in federal prison for each count of receipt of child pornography, 15 years for each count of production of child pornography and 10 years for each count of enticement of a minor for criminal sexual activity.
If convicted on all counts, that totals a possible sentence of 120 years, though the enticement charge carries a sentence as high as life in prison.
