New Pornographers drummer arrested for child porn; band cuts ties
Joe Seiders, the drummer of the indie rock band the New Pornographers, has been arrested for child pornography, authorities in California announced Thursday.
The 44-year-old musician, who was dismissed from the band following news of his arrest, was taken into custody by Riverside County Sheriff's deputies on April 9 following two incidents in Palm Desert, in California's Coachella Valley, Sergeant Daniel Milbrandt said in a news release.
Around 4 p.m. on April 7, deputies were alerted about 'a suspicious circumstance' at a business on the 73000 block of Dinah Shore Drive.
Jail records indicate the business is a Chick-fil-A restaurant
When deputies arrived at the scene, an 11-year-old boy told them that a man had recorded him on a cellphone while he was using the restroom.
Two days later, deputies were dispatched to the same location after receiving a report about an adult male who had been 'entering and exiting the restroom with juvenile males at the business,' Milbrandt said.
Believing that the man was the same person involved in the previous incident, deputies located the suspect, later identified as Seiders, and took him into custody.
Investigators then served search warrants for Seiders' residence, vehicle and cellphone and were able to link him to both reported incidents.
Evidence collected in the investigation also implicated Seiders in additional crimes, officials said.
He was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center on charges of possession of child pornography, annoying/molesting a child, invasion of privacy and attempted invasion of privacy.
His arrest stunned members of the Vancouver, British Columbia-based indie rock band, whose second studio album, 2003's 'Electric Version,' ranked No. 79 in Rolling Stone's '100 Best Albums of the Decade.'
'Everyone in the band is absolutely shocked, horrified and devastated by the news … and we have immediately severed all ties with him,' the group shared on Instagram late Thursday night. 'Our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by his actions.'
Seiders is currently being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility on $1 million bail and is expected at the Indio Larson Justice Center on Tuesday, online records show.
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