Darrin Bell, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist of 'Candorville', arrested for AI child porn

Under new California law, Darrin Bell was arrested for possession of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Darrin Bell, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, was arrested on charges of AI-generated child pornography in Sacramento. He is scheduled to appear in Sacramento Superior Court on Friday.

On Wednesday, the Sacramento County Sherrif's office carried out a search warrant which led to the discovery of 134 videos considered child sexual abuse material on an account associated with Bell. According to the California law AB 1831 that went into effect as recently as January 1, the possession of AI-generated child sex abuse material is a criminal offense.The inclusion of AI-generated material is a new clause in the state's law.

The 49-year old cartoonist, who is himself a father of four children, began his flourishng career while he was still in college at UC Berkeley. By his early 20s, Bell had worked with publication like Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Washington Post.

However, it would be 2003's "Candorville" that would become Bell's most-renowned work.The strip featured three childhood friends of color, examining issues of race, civil rights, pop culture and family.

Bell, who is Black and Jewish, would become the first Black cartoonist to have two nationally syndicated strips. In 2015, he was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Editorial Cartooning and the subequent year he won the National Press Foundation's Berryman Award for “work that exhibits power to influence public opinion, plus good drawing and striking effect.”

In 2019, Bell would earn the title of being the only Black cartoonist to receive the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning.

Darrin Bell accepts the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning from Columbia University President Lee Bollinger.

Bell's bail is set at $1 million while he is in custody at Sacramento County Main Jail.