Former Grammy-nominated conductor Julian Wachner sentenced to probation for child abuse material possession

Julian Wachner, once celebrated as a Grammy-nominated conductor and composer, received a suspended sentence of almost six years’ probation after admitting guilt to five child sexual abuse material charges and a cocaine possession charge. The judgment was delivered by Indiana’s Marion Superior Court, which also granted him credit for five days of incarceration. When arrested in August 2025, Wachner was employed as a fourth-grade math teacher at the Invent Learning Hub charter school in Indianapolis, a position he lost following the arrest.

Prosecutors noted that he used cryptocurrency repeatedly over several years to buy videos depicting children as young as one up to sixteen, with a stated preference for ages six to thirteen. Prior to his fall from grace, Wachner had conducted leading ensembles worldwide and directed music at Trinity Church Wall Street, a role he lost in 2022 after a report detailed a 2014 allegation of non-consensual contact at a Juilliard residency; he later sued Juilliard for defamation, a case dismissed with prejudice in 2023. Under the plea deal, Wachner also agreed to register as a sex offender and forgo any appeal of the sentence.