American drummer Joe Seiders, part of Canadian indie-rockers the New Pornographers, has been arrested for alleged possession of child pornography with his bandmates declaring they are “shocked, horrified, and devastated” by the news.
The Guardian reports the sheriff’s office of Riverside county, California, made public evidence that implicated Seiders in two incidents.
The outlet set out the allegations that lead to the 44-year-old musician’s arrest:
On Monday 7 April, an 11-year-old boy reported that a man attempted to film him in a restroom of a fast food restaurant, and on Wednesday 9 April, police officers received another report from the restaurant, that a man was “entering and exiting the restroom with juvenile males at the business”.
Officers arrested Seiders at the scene, and secured search warrants for his home, vehicle and phone: “Evidence was located implicating him in the two reported incidents, along with additional crimes, including possessing child pornography,” the statement reads. He was also charged with annoying/molesting a child, invasion of privacy, and attempted invasion of privacy.
Joseph Seiders was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, CA for possession of child pornography, annoying/molesting a child, invasion of privacy, and attempted invasion of privacy.
Seiders is being held in jail with bail set at $1m and is due in court on 22 April.
He has been with the Canadian outfit since 2014. The band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver, performed at Coachella in 2007 and 2011.
The group dropped their latest single, “Ballad of the Last Payphone,” less than one week before Seider’s arrest.
The New Pornographers responded with a statement reading: “Everyone in the band is absolutely shocked, horrified, and devastated by the news of the charges against Joe Seiders – and we have immediately severed all ties with him.
“Our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by his actions.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
The Riverside Sheriff’s Office believes there may be additional victims and encourages anyone with information related to this investigation to contact Investigator Iniguez at 760–836–1600 or Riverside Sheriff’s Dispatched at 951–776–1099.
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