A Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, Darrin Bell, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly possessing dozens of child sex abuse videos, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities said a search of his home uncovered 134 videos classified as child sexual abuse material.
The investigation began after a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about someone uploading 18 files containing such material. Bell is being charged under a new California law, effective January 1, which criminalizes possessing AI-generated child sexual abuse content.
This marks the first arrest under the law by detectives specializing in internet crimes against children.
Bell, 49, is being held on $1 million bail and is set to appear in court on Friday.
Bell, a Los Angeles native and father of four, is known for his editorial cartoons featured in major publications and for creating the comic strips “Candorville” and “Rudy Park.” He won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 2019 and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in 2015.
