Woman convicted of sexually abusing her 2 sons, family dog, receives 21 life terms

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A South Florida woman convicted of 84 counts of sexual abuse related to her two young sons and the family dog was sentenced to 21 life terms, 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 sentences, Wagner was ordered to remain behind bars for an additional 800 years, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported.

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

Assistant State Attorney Katy Reid called Wagner’s crimes “one of the worst sexual abuse cases I’ve ever seen.”

“I mean, a mother doing this to her infant 1-year-old son and her toddler 3-year-old. It doesn’t get more egregious or evil,” Reid told reporters after the trial ended. “I recommended the maximum sentence and that’s what (Mirman) gave her.”

Assistant Public Defender Mary Celedonio, who was Wagner’s court-appointed attorney, declined to comment, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers.

According to an arrest affidavit, Wagner was first arrested on Aug. 11, 2022, on one count of possession of child pornography. The arrest came after a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after Wagner allegedly posted videos to Snapchat that involved a “pre-pubescent male child” engaged in sex acts with an adult female.

Within a few weeks, Wagner was facing 139 felony counts after investigators reviewed 18 sexually explicit videos to her Snapchat account, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported. Prosecutors claimed the videos involved Wagner’s son and the family dog.

Among the charges filed against Wagner were three counts of capital sexual battery on a child, 18 counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, 18 counts of possession of child pornography, 18 counts of the use of a child in a sexual performance, 18 counts of promoting sexual performance by a child, one count of incest and four counts of sexual activity with an animal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“They’re doing better. The 3-year-old specifically, I know went to therapy,” Reid told the news outlet. “And I think it helped, is my understanding.”

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