close
close

Woman sentenced to 21 life sentences for sexually abusing her two sons and the family dog ​​– WFTV

FORT PIERCE, Fla. – A South Florida woman has been sentenced to 21 life sentences for 84 counts of sexually abusing her two young sons and the family dog, court records show.

Natalie Jesslynn Wagner, 28, of Port St. Lucie, was sentenced on June 19, according to St. Lucie County online court records. In addition to her life sentence, Wagner was sentenced to an additional 800 years in prison, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported.

According to the newspaper, Wagner was sentenced by District Judge Lawrence Mirman after a two-day trial.

Assistant District Attorney Katy Reid called Wagner’s crime “one of the worst cases of sexual abuse I have ever seen.”

“I mean, a mother does this to her one-year-old son and her three-year-old toddler. It doesn’t get more egregious or evil than that,” Reid told reporters after the trial ended. “I recommended the maximum sentence and that’s what (Mirman) gave her.”

According to Treasure Coast Newspapers, Assistant Public Defender Mary Celedonio, who was Wagner’s public defender, declined to comment.

According to an affidavit, Wagner was first arrested on August 11, 2022, for possession of child pornography. The arrest came following a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after Wagner allegedly posted videos on Snapchat showing a “prepubescent male boy” engaging in sexual acts with an adult female.

Within weeks, Wagner was charged with 139 felonies after investigators reviewed 18 sexually explicit videos on her Snapchat account, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported. Prosecutors claimed the videos featured Wagner’s son and the family dog.

The charges against Wagner include three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, 18 counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, 18 counts of possession of child pornography, 18 counts of using a child in a sexual performance, 18 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child, one count of incest and four counts of sexual conduct with an animal.

“She was uploading these videos to Snapchat and sending them to other people for money,” Reid said. “She was also downloading them to Dropbox, where she was then sharing her Dropbox with other people for money.”

Reid said Wagner sold the videos for $20 to $50 apiece, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported.

According to the affidavit, Wagner uploaded the videos to Snapchat between April 6, 2022, and May 9, 2022.

After Wagner’s arrest, her sons were removed from the apartment by officials from the Department of Children and Families.

Her ex-husband, William Wagner, lived in the home at the time of the alleged abuse and testified as a witness for the prosecution, Reid said. According to court records, he was sentenced to five years’ probation in 2023 after pleading no contest to a child neglect charge.

Family members are currently caring for the children and they are doing well, Reid told Treasure Coast Newspapers.

“They’re doing better. I know the three-year-old in particular has been going to therapy,” Reid told the news agency. “And I think it’s helped, from what I understand.”