On April 7, Palm Desert deputies responded to a call at a fast food restaurant where, “[u]pon arrival, deputies spoke with an 11-year-old male who stated an unknown male adult recorded him on a cell phone while he was using the restroom at the location,” reads a statement from the Riverside County Sheriff’s office. The office received a second call to the same location two days later, when “[a]n employee stated a male was entering and exiting the restroom with juvenile males at the business.” The second time, the suspect was identified as Seiders, and there was evidence allegedly implicating him in additional crimes. He was booked for “possession of child pornography, annoying/molesting a child, invasion of privacy, and attempted invasion of privacy.” The Guardian reports that his bail is set at $1 million.
Following the arrest, the New Pornographers released a statement ending their relationship with Seiders. “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 rest of the band said in a statement, per Variety. “Our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by his actions.”
While the New Pornographers formed in 1997, it wasn’t until 2014 that Seiders joined the band. Their first album with Seiders, Brill Bruisers, was their highest-charting release in the United States, hitting number 13 on the Billboard 200 and 14 in their native Canada.
