An Indiana mother recounted a troubling encounter with her fourth-grade teacher following a week when he was allegedly involved in child sex abuse material.
Julian Wachner, 55, previously worked as a composer and fourth-grade math teacher before his arrest. According to court records, the purchase of cryptocurrency occurred on a dark web site on Wednesday.
In an interview with investigators, he admitted to permitting the purchase. The records indicate that he stated he had previously downloaded and deleted child sex abuse material he acquired from the dark web.
A woman, who preferred to stay anonymous, said she agreed to let her child play with Wachner’s daughter after he encouraged her to bring her child to his home multiple times. The kids had been in the same kindergarten class the year prior.
“Each time we met him, he mentioned, ‘We need to set this up. We have to do this,’” she noted.
On the day of the playdate, feeling uneasy, the mother Googled Wachner’s name and was taken aback by what she found.
“I found earlier allegations of sexual misconduct and read them all. It was all public information, and it raised some red flags for me,” she remarked.
Wachner had previously been dismissed from his role as music director at Trinity Church Wall Street due to allegations of sexual misconduct that dated back to 2014. He denied all allegations and later took a teaching position at the Invention Learning Hub in Indianapolis. He had attempted to file honor and defamation claims, but they were dismissed.
The mother decided to stay with her child during the playdate for safety.
“I felt compelled to be there. If I wasn’t, I’d be angry with myself,” she reflected.
She shared some texts with WTTV that she received from Wachner on the day of the playdate.
The school informed parents that they had conducted background checks on Wachner before hiring him and noted that no children were reported to have been harmed by his behavior.
“If someone has a history of sexual misconduct against minors, they shouldn’t be working around children,” she added.
According to police reports, when officers executed a search warrant at Wachner’s home, they found cocaine and laptops containing child sex abuse materials.
Wachner was arrested on suspicion of child exploitation and possession of child pornography. Investigators are still analyzing the laptop, and no final charge has yet been determined.
