Florida mother sentenced to more than 21 life sentences for sex crimes against her children – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

5 2 minutes read

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (WPTV) — A Port St. Lucie mother has been sentenced to 21 life sentences plus 800 years after being convicted of “evil and horrific” sex crimes against her children.

In 2022, Assistant District Attorney Katy Reid said that Natalie Wagner, then 26, recorded videos of herself performing sexual acts on her 1- and 3-year-old children. Reid said she would sell the videos for $5 to $50 on the social media app Snapchat to users, making specific requests about what they wanted to see.

“She was their mother. I mean, she was the only person who should have made sure this never happened to them,” Reid said.

The investigation began when Reid said two complaints were made on Snapchat that a person, who turned out to be Wagner, was advertising sex with his children. Snapchat sent the information to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which located an IP address in Port St. Lucie.

Port St. Lucie police responded, searching his home and phone. They discovered disturbing evidence, including more than 20 explicit videos, some of which also included the family dog.

They also discovered Snapchat messages showing Wagner discussing the transmission of the videos.

“She would tell people, 'Make sure you don't record this. You need to delete this,'” Reid said. “She would be asked to do horrible things to her 3-year-old, she would do it, she would forward the video and get their response to tell them how pleased they were with what she had done.”

Wagner was charged and convicted of more than 80 counts ranging from incest to use of a child for sexual purposes and transmission of child pornography.

“[She was] in financial difficulty. But the fact that she was selling them for next to nothing, she must have gotten some satisfaction from that,” Reid said.

In most cases involving crimes against children, Reid said prosecutors often offer defendants plea deals to avoid the children having to go to trial. This case was different, Reid said.

“There was absolutely no solution for this woman. You had to lock it up and throw away the key, basically,” Reid said.

The judge imposed the maximum sentence possible.

“It’s disturbing that she gave away her children’s innocence for $10,” Reid added.

Reid also said the people requesting the videos will be investigated.

Now it is a question of ensuring that the children's future is not forever affected by this horrible past.

Reid said both children are with new caregivers; the 3-year-old has been in therapy and Reid hopes the 1-year-old is too young to know what they went through.

Reid also said the sentence only applied to crimes committed against the 3-year-old. Wagner still faces charges related to alleged crimes against the 1-year-old girl, meaning her sentence could be even longer if she is convicted again.

Wagner's husband also faces charges. Wagner told investigators she hid what she was doing from her husband, which Reid said appeared to be true, but they still accused him of failing to protect his children.