Darrin Bell, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, appears in court Friday (2025)

Nationally-recognized cartoonist Darrin Bell appeared briefly in court Friday afternoon to answer to accusations of possessing child pornography. Court documents obtained by KCRA 3 Friday allege Bell possessed more than 600 images depicting the sexual conduct of a minor. Bell won the Pulitzer Prize for cartooning in 2019.Read more about Bell's arrest here."The matter contains more than 600 images that violate Penal Code 311.11(a) and the matter contains 10 or more images involving a prepubescent minor or a minor who has not attained 12 years of age,” the felony complaint reads.Bell did not enter a plea on Friday. The judge approved revisiting his bail at a future hearing.The Friday court appearance comes after the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that a tip dating back several months from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led its detectives to search Bell’s Sacramento home Wednesday, which revealed explicit photos and videos. Some of that material included computer-generated content, according to the sheriff’s office.As of Jan. 1, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) – regardless of whether it was created by AI – can be prosecuted under the same parameters as other child pornography under new California law. Prior to AB 1831, computer-generated CSAM couldn’t be included in investigators’ cases, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office explained.Researcher Riana Pfefferkorn studies AI and its intersection with child safety online at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. Her work focuses on artificial intelligence and the policies surrounding its use in child sex abuse material.“I think this is something where a lot of people are getting taken by surprise,” she said Friday. “A lot of what we're seeing is pictures of real kids that are being altered using AI into sexual imagery.”Speaking generally, Pfefferkorn explained artificial intelligence is being used in myriad ways to create CSAM, from the use of applications that can modify an image to make the subject nude to AI platforms generating original content and images.“If an AI image generation model both knows what pornographic adult imagery looks like and knows what children look like, it can combine—unless there are guardrails built in to prevent it from happening—it can combine those images to generate AI CSAM,” Pfefferkorn said.Pfefferkorn said it is critical for parents to consider what and how pictures of their children are being shared online and to consider moving those images from public digital spaces to private threads and chats. She also encouraged parents to have age-appropriate conversations with their children about what to do if someone asks them to send a nude image, or if they see an explicit photo being shared of a friend or classmate. “One of the things that has been alarming about the rise of Nudify apps or other tools for creating sexually explicit deepfakes of adults or children is that it doesn't require any technical know-how,” Pfefferkorn said.Pfefferkorn did not speak to the specifics of Bell’s accusations, but said the case had the potential to become a landmark case for the prosecution of a suspect under AB 1831 for computer-generated CSAM.The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 36 million cyber tipline reports last year, according to executive director Jennifer Newman. “Unfortunately, with all technology that's generally designed to make our lives better, faster, quicker, all of those things, unfortunately, these offenders find ways to exploit it and benefit them and generative AI is a great example of that,” she said.Newman praised law enforcement for its efforts to keep up with evolving technology and its use to commit crimes, but stressed everyone needs to remain vigilant.“If something has happened or you believe something has happened or something feels uncomfortable or you're just suspicious of something, please make a report to the cyber tip line,” she said.Reports to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children can be made here. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Nationally-recognized cartoonist Darrin Bell appeared briefly in court Friday afternoon to answer to accusations of possessing child pornography.

Court documents obtained by KCRA 3 Friday allege Bell possessed more than 600 images depicting the sexual conduct of a minor. Bell won the Pulitzer Prize for cartooning in 2019.

Read more about Bell's arrest here.

"The matter contains more than 600 images that violate Penal Code 311.11(a) and the matter contains 10 or more images involving a prepubescent minor or a minor who has not attained 12 years of age,” the felony complaint reads.

Bell did not enter a plea on Friday. The judge approved revisiting his bail at a future hearing.

The Friday court appearance comes after the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that a tip dating back several months from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led its detectives to search Bell’s Sacramento home Wednesday, which revealed explicit photos and videos.

Some of that material included computer-generated content, according to the sheriff’s office.

As of Jan. 1, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) – regardless of whether it was created by AI – can be prosecuted under the same parameters as other child pornography under new California law.

Prior to AB 1831, computer-generated CSAM couldn’t be included in investigators’ cases, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office explained.

Researcher Riana Pfefferkorn studies AI and its intersection with child safety online at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. Her work focuses on artificial intelligence and the policies surrounding its use in child sex abuse material.

“I think this is something where a lot of people are getting taken by surprise,” she said Friday. “A lot of what we're seeing is pictures of real kids that are being altered using AI into sexual imagery.”

Speaking generally, Pfefferkorn explained artificial intelligence is being used in myriad ways to create CSAM, from the use of applications that can modify an image to make the subject nude to AI platforms generating original content and images.

“If an AI image generation model both knows what pornographic adult imagery looks like and knows what children look like, it can combine—unless there are guardrails built in to prevent it from happening—it can combine those images to generate AI CSAM,” Pfefferkorn said.

Pfefferkorn said it is critical for parents to consider what and how pictures of their children are being shared online and to consider moving those images from public digital spaces to private threads and chats.

She also encouraged parents to have age-appropriate conversations with their children about what to do if someone asks them to send a nude image, or if they see an explicit photo being shared of a friend or classmate.

“One of the things that has been alarming about the rise of Nudify apps or other tools for creating sexually explicit deepfakes of adults or children is that it doesn't require any technical know-how,” Pfefferkorn said.

Pfefferkorn did not speak to the specifics of Bell’s accusations, but said the case had the potential to become a landmark case for the prosecution of a suspect under AB 1831 for computer-generated CSAM.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 36 million cyber tipline reports last year, according to executive director Jennifer Newman.

“Unfortunately, with all technology that's generally designed to make our lives better, faster, quicker, all of those things, unfortunately, these offenders find ways to exploit it and benefit them and generative AI is a great example of that,” she said.

Newman praised law enforcement for its efforts to keep up with evolving technology and its use to commit crimes, but stressed everyone needs to remain vigilant.

“If something has happened or you believe something has happened or something feels uncomfortable or you're just suspicious of something, please make a report to the cyber tip line,” she said.

Reports to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children can be made here.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

Darrin Bell, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, appears in court Friday (2025)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Allyn Kozey

Last Updated:

Views: 5790

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (43 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Allyn Kozey

Birthday: 1993-12-21

Address: Suite 454 40343 Larson Union, Port Melia, TX 16164

Phone: +2456904400762

Job: Investor Administrator

Hobby: Sketching, Puzzles, Pet, Mountaineering, Skydiving, Dowsing, Sports

Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.