“Trinity Wall Street Church has fired its music director, the influential composer and keyboardist Julian Wachner, as it investigates a claim that he sexually assaulted” a woman named Mary Poole, writes Jake Offenhartz in Monday’s (3/14) Gothamist (NYC). “The church … announced the termination of Wachner … on Monday…. Wachner was placed on leave [following] a New York Times report that he had allegedly assaulted a former Juilliard employee in 2014. Wachner has denied the accusation. ‘The investigation is ongoing, and thus the investigator has not yet made any determination about the veracity of the 2014 allegations,’ the church’s statement read. ‘Still, we have concluded based on recent information that Julian has otherwise conducted himself in a manner that is inconsistent with our expectations of anyone who occupies a leadership position. For this reason, Trinity has decided to end Julian’s employment with Trinity as of today.’… Mary Poole … said Wachner assaulted her during a music festival in South Carolina eight years ago. She alleged that he ‘pushed her against a wall, groped her and kissed her, and that he ignored her demands that he stop.’ … Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney for Wachner, said that his client ‘continues to dispute the nearly decade old, misleading and untrue allegations.’ ”
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