Joseph Seiders, the 44-year-old drummer for the indie rock group the New Pornographers, was charged earlier this month for alleged possession of child pornography, annoying/molesting a child, invasion of privacy, concealing a camera with intent to invade privacy, and attempting to conceal a camera without consent.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office revealed Thursday that deputies assigned to the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station were alerted on April 7 to a “suspicious circumstance” involving an 11-year-old boy. The child claimed that a man had filmed him using the restroom. According to jail records, the incident took place in the restroom of a Chick-Fil-A.
Deputies received a second report at the same location on April 9. An employee indicated that the man from the previous incident, later identified as Seiders, was “entering and exiting the restroom with juvenile males at the business.”
Deputies apprehended the alleged molester and booked him into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, California.
According to the RCSO, the Palm Desert Station Investigations Bureau searched Seiders’ residence, vehicle, and cell phone, finding evidence that allegedly implicated him in the two reported incidents at the Chick-Fil-A as well as additional crimes, including the possession of child pornography.
At the time of publication, Seiders — dubbed the “cocktail drummer” by the Daily Beast — was still in jail with his bail set at $1 million.
Suspected pervert Joseph Seider (Riverside County Sheriff’s Office)
Seiders’ band, the New Pornographers, said in a statement, “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,” added the band.
The New Pornographers made Rolling Stone’s list of top 100 bands of the 2000s and performed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The Guardian noted that the band reached No. 13 in the U.S. charts in 2014 with its album “Brill Bruisers.”
The band with the alleged pedophile drummer has been highly critical of President Donald Trump, bashing him in a Rolling Stone article and noting in 2017, “Trump got 4% of the vote in DC. Where are we most popular? DC. Make of that what you will.”
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