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The Sacramento sheriff’s department has charged Pulitzer Prize winner Darrin Bell with possessing obscene underage material
Darrin Bell, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist known for his work with The Washington Post, has been arrested on child pornography charges, according to an entry on the Sacramento County Jail’s website.
In the listing detailing Bell’s inmate information, he is reported to have been booked on January 15, and is said to be charged with felony “possession/control of obscene matter depicting a person under 18.”
The investigation into Bell was conducted by Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children detectives (ICAC) and apparently began after a tip about 18 files containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that were uploaded to an online service, according to the outlet BNO, citing a statement by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators are said to have ultimately found a total of 134 videos linked to the same account, which was allegedly owned and controlled by Bell. A search warrant was reportedly executed at Bell’s residence, resulting in his arrest and booking into the Sacramento County Main Jail.
The inmate information listed on the jail’s online database shows that Bell’s bail has been set at $1 million.
The outlet quotes Sgt. Amar Gandhi of the sheriff’s office as saying that Bell’s arrest is the first case in Sacramento County for possession of AI-generated child pornography under a new law that came into force on January 1.
There has so far been no official confirmation from Bell’s representatives of his status. Major news outlets, including The Washington Post, have not yet reported on the matter.
Darrin Bell is known for his comic strips “Candorville” and “Rudy Park,” both featured in the Post and other newspapers nationwide. In 2019, he became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.
