Crime & Safety
Commander Gets 12-Year Sentence in Molestation Case
Man had entered guilty plea for abusing a child over a combined seven-year period.
A Navy commander who molested a young female relative over a seven-year period in Chula Vista and Monterey was sentenced today to 12 years in prison.
Brett Allen Wagner, 40, pleaded guilty in September to a felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14.
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The defendant apologized to the now-17-year-old victim before he was sentenced by South Bay Judge Kathleen Lewis.
According to the criminal complaint, Wagner molested the victim from 1997 to 2001 when she was 3-7 years old in Chula Vista and 2001 to 2004 when she was 7-10 years old in Monterey, when he was assigned there.
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The defendant was arrested in June and extradited from Pascagoula, Miss., to San Diego County to face charges.
As of sentencing, Wagner was still a commander in the Navy, but was expected to be kicked out of the service, according to prosecutor Rachel Cano.
– City News Service
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