NYC conductor fired over sex accusations is arrested on child porn charges while working as a teacher

A disgraced New York classical music conductor who was fired over sexual assault accusations has been arrested on child pornography charges in Indiana, where he was working as a music teacher.

Julian James Wachner, now 55, had been the acclaimed music director of Trinity Church Wall Street until 2022, when he was accused of kissing and groping someone at an earlier music festival.

Despite the scandal, he was teaching fourth grade at the Invent Learning Hub charter school in Indianapolis when he was arrested Tuesday on felony child porn charges, according to the Indianapolis Star.

The disgraced teacher’s “inappropriate behavior” happened beyond school grounds and outside school hours, according to the school’s director, who told parents in a letter that “there is no indication that any of our students were involved.”

School officials said they had conducted a background check on Wachner before he was hired in September 2024. Wachner would now not be returning for the remainder of the year, they said.

Wachner was previously celebrated nationally as a classical music conductor and composer who directed music at the powerful Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, where he oversaw the church’s esteemed choir and orchestra. 

In 2022, he was accused by former Juilliard School employee Mary Poole of sexually harassing her at a South Carolina Music Festival in 2014, the New York Times reported.

Poole told The Times Wachner pushed her against a wall, groped her and kissed her despite her pleading with him to stop.

Wachner denied the allegations and described the encounter as consensual in a since-deleted statement posted to his website.

He was fired in March 2022 after the church found his behavior “inconsistent with our expectations,” the Trinity rector told The Times.

Wachner is charged with one count of felony possession of child pornography, according to booking records from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Details of the case remain sealed, according to The Star.