Joseph Seiders, the drummer for the band New Pornographers, was arrested for child pornography on April 9 in Palm Desert, California, according to an April 17 police report. The band has since cut all ties with him. The police first learned of suspicious behavior from an April 7 call that led them to an 11-year-old boy who said that an unknown man had videotaped him in a restroom. A second call came in on April 9, describing the same behavior in the the same location, confirmed to be a Chick-fil-A by KESQ News. The police then arrived and arrested Seiders. After the arrest, the officers got a search warrant and found further evidence in Seiders’s apartment, ultimately charging him with child pornography, annoying/molesting a child, invasion of privacy, and attempted invasion of privacy.
“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,” the New Pornographers said in a statement on April 18. “Our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by his actions.” Seiders is not a founding member of the band but has been playing with them since 2014. The first studio album for the band he played on was 2017’s Whiteout Conditions. Seiders is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday.
