Indy Teacher, Composer Arrested on Child Exploitation Charges
INDIANAPOLIS –Police arrested Julian Wachner, a local teacher and well-known composer, on preliminary charges of child exploitation and child pornography. He was booked into Marion County Jail Wednesday.
Wachner most recently taught fourth-grade math at an Invent Learning Hub charter school. He’s also a recognized composer and conductor with several albums and published works.
Back in 2022, Wachner was let go as music director at Trinity Church Wall Street after one sexual misconduct allegation, and he also lost a position at Juilliard, where the accuser worked at the time.
He later sued Juilliard for defamation, saying the school never properly investigated the claim and that the statements they made hurt his career. That lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which basically means it can’t be filed again.
Since then, a Georgia court ordered Wachner’s accuser to pay $117,892 in damages for reputational harm she caused other people with false claims. During that trial, witnesses said she had made multiple unfounded allegations against several men, some of which ended up benefiting her financially.
In a 2022 affidavit, Wachner said a 2014 encounter with the woman didn’t go beyond kissing and over-the-clothes contact. He also called Juilliard’s response to the New York Times misleading and defamatory.
