Conductor Julian Wachner charged with possession of child sex abuse material : NPR

Julian Wachner directs the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Bang on Can All-Stars du Lincoln Center in New York in 2014. Wachner, who was dismissed from his post in Trinity in 2022, was accused of possession of sexual abuse materials in Indiana.

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This report includes mentions of sexual violence.

Julian Wachner, conductor and composer who formerly occupied some of the most respected institutions in New York, was charged in Indiana to have children of sexual abuse and cocaine.

On Tuesday, prosecutors of the county of Marion, in Ind., Filed 11 accusations of crime against him: 10 accusation of possession of material of sexual abuse for children representing children under 12 years old and an additional chief of cocaine possession. Wachner pleaded not guilty and recorded a deposit of $ 15,000; His defense lawyer, Bill Frederick, did not respond to the repeated NPR attempts to contact him. The trial against Wachner is expected to start on October 20.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department alleges accusation documents that between August 2024 and February 2025, it followed around $ 840 in cryptocurrency that Wachner sent to digital accounts associated with a “dark web” site that traffic of sexual abuse equipment for children. In the documents, detectives allege that Wachner admitted to having used the cryptocurrency “hundreds of times” to buy videos of children “aged about 1 to 16 years. He also revealed that his specific preference concerned materials involving children aged 6 to 13.”

Until her arrest, Wachner, 55, had worked as a fourth -year math teacher at Invent Learning Hub, a school with a local charter.

In a statement sent to NPR on Wednesday, Invent Learning Hub wrote: “In force immediately, Julian Wachner is no longer an employee of Invent Learning Hub. We want to be transparent with our community: at no time, our employees or the members of the board of directors did not know that Mr. Wachner was the subject of an investigation, and we have not experienced in -depth checks in the conduct of our students. Our highest priority.

Wachner’s most recent musical work was with the first musical organization in Belgium Concerto Vocale. On Monday, Vocal Concerto had published an ad on her website that she had “suspended her relationship” with Wachner after learning her arrest, although the position has since been deleted. In his work with the Belgian organization, Wachner had worked in close collaboration with a boys’ choir.

At the height of his musical career, Wachner was twice nominated For the Grammy Awards for his work as a conductor. He recorded more than a dozen albums from his own music and other composers with labels such as Naxos, via and Atma and led major orchestras, including Philadelphia Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Wachner had been largely out of the public’s eyes in recent years, but his arrest on August 20 has marked an astonishing development in the career of a musician who was once greeted and admired, especially in New York. Until 2022, he was director of music and the arts of Trinity Wall Street, one of the richest churches in the city and a pillar of the New York Arts community. He is particularly well known for his young choir, who attracts young singers from all over the city.

Wachner was dismissed from his position in Trinity in 2022. His shot came after The New York Times published A report indicating that a woman had accused her of having groped him and embracing her against her will during a program of residence in Juilliard in Aiken, SC in 2014. Wachner denied allegations, and no criminal accusation was brought against him. Wachner then filed a civil complaint against Juilliard, accusing the defamation school; This case was rejected with prejudice by the Supreme Court of New York in June 2023.

Wachner had to lead the orchestra and the Indianapolis Symphony and Chorus chorus chorus [ISO] In December, but its name was removed from the orchestra website. NPR has repeatedly asked for comments from ISO, but did not receive an answer.