New Pornographers Member Arrested on Child Pornography Charges: Drummer Joe Seiders Kicked Out of Band

The New Pornographers drummer Joe Seiders has been arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography and other sex offenses.

Seiders, 44, was arrested on April 9 in Palm Desert, Calif., after a Chick-fil-A employee called the police about a man who was entering and exiting the bathroom with multiple male children, according to a news release by the Riverside County Sheriff.

On April 7, officers had responded to the same Chick-fil-A to speak with an 11-year-old boy who said an unknown man recorded him on his cell phone while he was using the bathroom.

Two days later, when an employee noticed a man he believed to be the same person as before entering and exiting the bathroom with male children, he called the police. When police arrived at the restaurant, they identified the man as Seiders and took him into custody, according to police.

Investigators then obtained a search warrant for Seiders’ home, vehicle and cell phone, where they found evidence of him being the same man who had previously been acting suspiciously at the restaurant, police say. They also found he possessed child sex abuse materials, referred to by the sheriff’s office as child pornography.

Seiders was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on charges of possessing child pornography, annoying/molesting a child, invasion of privacy and attempted invasion of privacy. He is being held on $1 million bail and is due back in court on Tuesday.

Shortly after news broke of Seiders’ arrest, the New Pornographers issued 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.”

Seiders joined the New Pornographers in 2014, following founding drummer Fisher Rose, who started with the band in 1997, and Kurt Dahle, who was with the band from 1999 to 2014.