New documents released in the Florida case of Madeline Soto, a 13-year-old girl who went missing and was found dead days later, reveal the girl was a victim of sexual battery for years at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend.
Stephan Sterns has been charged with sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material, but he has not yet been charged in connection with Soto’s disappearance and death.
Sterns was arrested after police found “disturbing” imagery on his cell phone and before Soto’s body was found in rural Osceola County late last week. Sterns said he took Soto to school on February 26 but dropped her off a half mile away. He was later seen on video dropping items off in a dumpster — items that turned out to be Soto’s school-issued laptop and her backpack — and police said they believed the girl was already dead by the time Sterns said he dropped her off at school.
The court documents say Soto was sexually abused at least as far back as 2022, WESH reported.
Over the weekend, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office accidentally released a photo from the crime scene, showing Soto’s body, in a social media post that was supposed to be about an event for seniors, WFTV reported. The post was immediately taken down and the sheriff’s office apologized.
Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Andrew Bain’s office said that he has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate how the photo was released.
Sterns has been named the prime suspect in Soto’s death. But the girl’s mother, Jennifer Soto, also told WFTV that “we dropped her off … close to school.”
“She wanted to walk the rest of the way,” she said.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Madeline Soto/Orange County Sheriff’s Office]
