The boyfriend of the mother of Madeline Soto, the 13-year-old Florida girl who was found dead in a wooded area this month, faces 60 new charges that span sexual battery to possession of child pornography, authorities said Tuesday.
Stephan Sterns, 37, whom the Orange County Sheriff's Office previously described as "the prime suspect" in Madeline’s disappearance, was hit with the fresh charges Monday, from the State Attorney’s Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit said in a news release.
He has not been charged in connection with the girl's death.
Madeline’s mother reported her missing Feb. 26 after she went to pick her up from school and learned that she never made it.
Sterns was arrested Feb. 28 on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material after detectives found “disturbing images” and videos that were “criminal, and sexual in nature,” on his phone, the sheriff's office said.
During the search for Madeline, Sterns was interviewed by law enforcement and consented to having his phone searched, an arrest affidavit said. He told authorities he accidentally factory reset it the day Madeline vanished, according to the affidavit.
However, a forensic examination of the phone led authorities to discover the images, prompting his arrest. The arrest affidavit did not name Madeline but said the images found depicted "the missing juvenile."
Further investigation led to the discovery of more images showing criminal acts, leading to the new charges, authorities said.
He now faces eight counts of sexual battery on a child under 12, five counts of sexual battery with a child 12 to 18 (familial/custodial authority), seven counts of lewd or lascivious molestation and 40 counts of unlawful possession of materials depicting sexual performance by a child 10 or more images, the news release said.
Court documents filed Monday, which blocked out the name of the victim, indicate that the crimes dated to 2019, several of them having taken place when the victim was under age 12.
“The State Attorney’s Office has been working closely with KPD and received evidence that gave us cause to file formal charges against Sterns," State Attorney Andrew A. Bain said in a statement, referring to the Kissimmee Police Department, the lead agency in the murder investigation. "We appreciate the thoroughness and detailed attention of their investigation and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to build a strong case against the defendant.”
Sexual battery on a child under 12 is a felony punishable by life in prison if a defendant is convicted, prosecutors said.
Sterns is being held in the Osceola County Jail. His arraignment is set for April 2.
The public defender's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was not clear Sterns has been assigned an attorney.
It is believed that she was killed in Kissimmee, where her family lived in an apartment, and that Sterns moved her body early Feb. 26, Orange County Sheriff John Mina has said.
Madeline’s body was found March 1. No details about how she died have been released.