Port St. Lucie mother sentenced to more than 21 life sentences for sex crimes

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

In 2022, Assistant District Attorney Katy Reid said Natalie Wagner, then 26, recorded videos of herself performing sexual acts with her 1- and 3-year-old children. Reid said she would sell the videos for between $5 and $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 one 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 someone, who ultimately went by the name Wagner, was advertising that they were having sex with their children. Snapchat sent the information to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which tracked an IP address to Port St. Lucie.

Port St. Lucie police responded, searching his home and phone, finding 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.

“Some of the things she tells people are, 'Make sure you don't save 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 saying how happy 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] financially struggling. But the fact that she was selling them for next to nothing, she must have gotten some sort of satisfaction from that,” Reid said.

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

“Absolutely no deal for this woman. She basically had to be locked up and throw away the key,” Reid said.

The judge imposed the maximum sentence possible.

“It's disturbing that she would expose her children's innocence for $10,” Reid added.

Reid also says the people who requested the videos will be investigated.

Today, the goal is to ensure that children's futures are not forever affected by this horrific past.

Reid says both children are with new guardians; the 3-year-old has been through counseling and Reid hopes the 1-year-old is too young to ever know what he's been 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 seemed true, but they still accused him of failing to protect her children.