KIDS SAFETY ONLINE. 49 YEAR OLD DARREN BELL IS A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CARTOONIST. HE’S NOW IN THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY MAIN JAIL, ACCUSED OF POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS THE CHARGES COME AFTER A TIP FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN AND DETECTIVES SEARCH OF BELL’S HOME. THEY DISCOVERED ADDITIONAL IMAGES OVER 100 BETWEEN PICTURES AND VIDEOS, SOME OF WHICH THIS IS VERY UNIQUE, WERE COMPUTER OR AI GENERATED. THE REASON THAT’S IMPORTANT IS PRIOR TO JANUARY 1ST, NONE OF THOSE WERE ILLEGAL. AB 1381 WENT INTO EFFECT JANUARY 1ST. IT EXPANDED CURRENT LAWS AGAINST CHILD PORNOGRAPHY TO INCLUDE CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL CREATED USING TECHNOLOGY. CALIFORNIA LAW MADE IT ILLEGAL TO CREATE OR DISTRIBUTE CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL, BUT IT SPECIFICALLY SAID OF REAL CHILDREN. AND SO OUR THE DISTRICT ATTORNEYS WERE HAVING TROUBLE PROSECUTING CASES WHERE THE IMAGES WERE ACTUALLY GENERATED USING TECHNOLOGY. ASSEMBLY MEMBER MARC BERMAN AUTHORED THE BILL, AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I’VE HEARD THAT IT’S BEING USED. I WISH IT WASN’T BEING USED. I WISH IT DIDN’T HAVE TO BE USED. THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN SAYS CONCERN ABOUT AI GENERATED CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL IS MOUNTING. UNFORTUNATELY, WHAT WE’RE SEEING IS DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THE TECHNOLOGY IS BEING USED TO CREATE NEW CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL, TO CHANGE IMAGES THAT ARE ACTUALLY NORMAL, EVERYDAY PHOTOS. THIS COMES AFTER JUST LAST YEAR, THE CENTER RECEIVED 36 MILLION CYBER REPORTS. IT’S A VERY REAL THREAT THAT WE HAVE IN BELL’S CASE, THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS THEY’RE STILL TRYING TO DETERMINE WHERE THE CONTENT CAME FROM. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY SAY THEY’VE BEEN ABLE TO CHARGE SOMEONE FOR THE EXPLICIT AI GENERATED CONTENT. IT’S A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. HOPEFULLY, AGAIN, IT DETERS OTHERS FROM WANTING TO PARTAKE IN THESE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES. BUT WE CAN ONLY HOPE IN SACRAMENTO LEE ANNE DENYER KCRA THREE NEWS. BE
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell arrested for AI child porn, Sacramento sheriff says
Updated: 8:36 PM PST Jan 16, 2025
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Sacramento-based Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist on accusations of being in possession of child pornography.Detectives from the Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children served a search warrant to 49-year-old Darrin Bell’s home Wednesday morning after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Detectives said they recovered images and movies depicting child sex abuse, material believed to be computer-generated content.”The reason that’s important is prior to Jan. 1, none of those were illegal,” said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.AB 1831 went into effect Jan. 1. It explicitly made computer-generated and AI-generated child sexual abuse material illegal, putting its possession under the same penal code as child pornography. “It’s a step in the right direction,” said Gandhi. In all 134 videos linked to the same account controlled by Bell were recovered, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators are still working to determine where it came from and if it was created in the home.Bell was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on $1 million bail. Bell is a UC Berkeley graduate who became the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize for cartooning. He’s best known for his syndicated comic strips “Candorville” and “Rudy Park.” Candorville is reportedly carried by more than 100 newspapers.He’s due in court on Friday. This was the first arrest by Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Detectives involving a charge for the possession of computer-generated/AI child sex abuse material, according to the sheriff’s office. It noted the law changed this year to include AI-generated material as a criminal offense.Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-San Mateo, authored AB 1831 after the California District Attorney’s Association notified him of the loophole hindering prosecution against people with AI generated child sex abuse material.”California law made it illegal to create or distribute child sexual abuse material, but it specifically said of real children,” he said Thursday. “This was a loophole essentially in the law that wasn’t prepared for A.I. technology and deepfake technology.”Two weeks after taking effect, Berman said Bell’s case marked the first case he had heard of the bill being used to charge a suspect.Artificial intelligence continues to become more advanced and more difficult to differentiate, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”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,” said Jennifer Newman, an executive director at the center. “What we’re seeing is different ways that technology is being used to create new child sexual abuse material, to change images that are actually normal, everyday photos.”The office received 36 million cyber tip line reports in 2024, she said.See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Sacramento-based Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist on accusations of being in possession of child pornography.
Detectives from the Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children served a search warrant to 49-year-old Darrin Bell’s home Wednesday morning after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Detectives said they recovered images and movies depicting child sex abuse, material believed to be computer-generated content.
“The reason that’s important is prior to Jan. 1, none of those were illegal,” said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
AB 1831 went into effect Jan. 1. It explicitly made computer-generated and AI-generated child sexual abuse material illegal, putting its possession under the same penal code as child pornography.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Gandhi.
In all 134 videos linked to the same account controlled by Bell were recovered, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators are still working to determine where it came from and if it was created in the home.
Bell was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on $1 million bail.
Bell is a UC Berkeley graduate who became the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize for cartooning. He’s best known for his syndicated comic strips “Candorville” and “Rudy Park.” Candorville is reportedly carried by more than 100 newspapers.
He’s due in court on Friday.
This was the first arrest by Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Detectives involving a charge for the possession of computer-generated/AI child sex abuse material, according to the sheriff’s office. It noted the law changed this year to include AI-generated material as a criminal offense.
Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-San Mateo, authored AB 1831 after the California District Attorney’s Association notified him of the loophole hindering prosecution against people with AI generated child sex abuse material.
“California law made it illegal to create or distribute child sexual abuse material, but it specifically said of real children,” he said Thursday. “This was a loophole essentially in the law that wasn’t prepared for A.I. technology and deepfake technology.”
Two weeks after taking effect, Berman said Bell’s case marked the first case he had heard of the bill being used to charge a suspect.
Artificial intelligence continues to become more advanced and more difficult to differentiate, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“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,” said Jennifer Newman, an executive director at the center. “What we’re seeing is different ways that technology is being used to create new child sexual abuse material, to change images that are actually normal, everyday photos.”
The office received 36 million cyber tip line reports in 2024, she said.
See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
