Pulitizer Prize winning cartoonist arrested by Sacramento Sheriff’s Department for child pornography possession

Award-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell was arrested by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department’s Internet Crimes task force for possession of child pornography. Detectives found 18 files containing 134 videos that were linked to Bell. He is currently in custody on $1 million bail.

FAMED CARTOONIST ARRESTED FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD SEX ABUSE MATERIAL (CHILD PORNOGRAPHY)

Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Detectives (ICAC) conducted an investigation stemming from a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) related to someone uploading Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM), also referred to as child pornography. The tip was related to 18 files containing CSAM. The investigation continued, and a total of 134 videos of CSAM were located and linked to the same account, owned and controlled by 49-year-old Darrin Bell.

Yesterday morning (January 15), ICAC Detectives served a residential search warrant at Bell’s home. Detectives recovered evidence related to the case, as well as computer-generated/AI CSAM. Bell was subsequently arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail for the possession of CSAM. He is currently in custody being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on January 17.

This case was the first arrest by Sacramento Valley ICAC where possession of computer-generated/AI CSAM was charged 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.

Photo from Bell’s Instagram account @DarrinBellArt/Instagram