Former Royal Philarmonic Orchestra conductor found guilty of child sex offences is spared jail sentence

A world-renowned classical music conductor, Jan Latham-Koenig, who was awarded an OBE back in 2020, has been given a 14-month prison sentence suspended for two years after previously pleading guilty to three charges.

London's Southwark Crown Court heard how the 70-year-old conductor, who has in the past been employed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and all the BBC ensembles, in one instance believed he had been messaging a 14-year-old boy he knew as Jacob.In fact, he had been talking to an undercover police officer.

Latham-Koenig, from Belsize Park, north-west London, was sentenced to 14 months each for attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and also arranging or facilitating the commission of a sexual offence with a child between 9 December 2023 and 11 January this year.

He was also given 10 months' imprisonment for engaging in sexual communication with a child. All sentences are to run concurrently.

Defence counsel Eleanor Laws said the case has had a "devastating effect" on Latham-Koenig, who has suffered "a loss of his career" which was something he "worked very hard at and was his great passion". She added that Latham-Koenig's friends, who say he is "kind, humble and generous with his time", are sticking by him and he has taken "considerable steps to address his offending behaviour", including undergoing intensive therapy.