Pulitzer Prize-Winning Cartoonist Accused of Using AI to Generate Child Porn

A Pulitzer Prize-Winning cartoonist has been arrested for allegedly creating child pornography using AI, according to a report.

California-based Darrin Bell, 49, was arrested by Sacramento County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) investigators on Wednesday, the Fresno Bee reported. Bell gained notoriety for his "Candorville" comic strip about three childhood friends of color. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for Editorial Cartooning, and was the first black cartoonist to have two nationally syndicated comic strips.

Now, Bell is the first person to be arrested by SCSO in connection to AI-generated child pornography, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Existing laws prohibiting child sex abuse material were updated to include AI-generated media on Jan. 1.

Deputies executed a search warrant against Bell at the time of his arrest Wednesday morning following an investigation by the Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Detectives task force. "Detectives recovered evidence related to the case, as well as computer-generated/AI," the Sheriff's Office stated.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted the task force to an internet upload of 18 files containing child sex abuse material (CSAM). "134 videos of CSAM were located and linked to the same account, owned and controlled by 49-year-old Darrin Bell," investigators said.

Bell is being held on $1 million bail in the Sacramento County Main Jail with a court appearance scheduled for Thursday afternoon.