Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell who also worked with the Washington Post has been arrested for possession of child pornography, reports claimed. Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Detectives conducted an investigation after receiving a tip that 49-year-old Darrin Bell had filed containing child sex abuse material.
The detectives served a residential search warrant at Bell’s home and received evidence related to the case.
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The cartoonist was also in possession of AI child sex abuse material. “Bell was subsequently arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail for the possession of CSAM (child sexual abuse material). He is currently in custody being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on January 17,” the report said.
“The case was the first arrest by Sacramento Vallet ICAC where possession of computer-generated/AI CSAM was charged against against a suspect (the law changed on January 1, 2025 to include AI-generated material as a criminal offense). Bell is a well-known cartoonist having been featured in several prominent publications. His booking photo is not available for public release, per California law, a news release said.
Darin Bell is known for his syndicated satirical comic strips Candorville and Rudy Park. Bell’s strip Candorville, launched in September 2003 by The Washington Post Writers Group (WPWG), features young black and Latino characters living in the inner city. Bell was given the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. He was the first African-American journalist to win the Pulitzer for Editorial cartooning.
