Former Conductor Julian Wachner Sentenced to Probation for Child Exploitation and Drug Possession

Julian Wachner conducting the Choir of Trinity Wall Street with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra in 2013.Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images/Hulton Archivehide caption

When Wachner was arrested in August 2025, he was employed as a fourth‑grade mathematics teacher at an Indianapolis charter school. His former career as a renowned conductor and composer had collapsed, and his employer, Invent Learning Hub, said it was unaware of the ongoing investigation and had performed comprehensive background checks. He was dismissed following his arrest.

Former conductor Julian Wachner received a sentence of nearly six years’ probation after pleading guilty in July to five counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and one count of cocaine possession. He is required to register as a sex offender and will receive credit for five days already served in jail, per the sentencing order.

The sentencing occurred on a Wednesday afternoon in Indiana’s Marion Superior Court.

Julian Wachner conducts the choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Bang on a Can All-Stars at Lincoln Center in New York in 2014. Wachner, who was dismissed from his position at Trinity in 2022, has been charged with possession of child sex abuse material in Indiana.

When Wachner was arrested in August 2025, he was employed as a fourth‑grade mathematics teacher at an Indianapolis charter school. His former career as a renowned conductor and composer had collapsed, and his employer, Invent Learning Hub, said it was unaware of the ongoing investigation and had performed comprehensive background checks. He was dismissed following his arrest.

Former conductor Julian Wachner received a sentence of nearly six years’ probation after pleading guilty in July to five counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and one count of cocaine possession. He is required to register as a sex offender and will receive credit for five days already served in jail, per the sentencing order.

The sentencing occurred on a Wednesday afternoon in Indiana’s Marion Superior Court.

According to 2025 charging documents, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department reported that Wachner repeatedly used cryptocurrency to purchase videos depicting children aged roughly 1 to 16, specifying that his preference was for material involving children between the ages of 6 and 13.

He was originally charged with ten counts of possessing child sexual abuse material involving minors under twelve and one count of cocaine possession. On July 15, under a plea agreement with Indiana, he pleaded guilty to five of the material charges and the drug count, and relinquished his right to appeal the sentence.

Wachner had previously been celebrated as a musician with more than a dozen recordings and twice‑nominated for Grammy Awards as a conductor. He led major orchestras worldwide, such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and served as director of music and the arts at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York until 2022. The church’s renowned youth chorus attracted child singers from throughout the city.

Trinity Church Wall Street terminated his employment in 2022 after The New York Times reported that a woman alleged he groped and forcibly kissed her during a 2014 Juilliard residency in Aiken, South Carolina. Wachner denied the accusations, and no criminal charges were pursued.

He subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit against Juilliard, which was dismissed with prejudice by the New York Supreme Court in June 2023.

Source link