The prime suspect in the death of Florida teen Madeline Soto allegedly began sexually abusing the girl almost two years before her body was discovered last week, according to a newly-released court records.
Stephan Sterns, 37, the boyfriend of the 13-year-old’s mom, allegedly began abusing Madeline in August 2022, when she was only 11 years old, according to an arrest affidavit filed in Osceola County published by WESH on Tuesday.
He has been arrested on unrelated charges of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse after a search of his phone revealed “disturbing images.”
The material recovered from the phone revealed private parts of a young girl and the suspect engaged in sexual acts with her, according to the Kissimmee Police Department document.
Metadata timestamps dated the disturbing images and videos to August 2022, according to the affidavit, which redacted the victim’s identity but left a birthdate that matches Madeline’s, Fox 35 Orlando reported.
Kissimmee police Chief Betty Holland had previously declined to confirm whether Madeline was the alleged victim of the sexual offenses, but the newly -eleased affidavit cites “the missing juvenile.”
Another alleged incident took place on another unspecified date when Madeline was 12, according to the Orlando Sentinel, which also cited the redacted document.
Detectives were able to pinpoint the room where many of the alleged incidents took place inside the apartment where Madeline lived with Sterns and her mom, Jenn Soto, in Venetian Bay Villages in Kissimmee, according to the outlet.
Madeline, who turned 13 on Feb. 22, was found dead in a wooded area in Osceola County on Friday after being reported missing four days earlier.
Sterns, who was named the “prime suspect,” was the last person to see her alive after she never showed up to school.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina told reporters after Madeline’s body was found that she was likely already dead before her body was hidden.
“We believe she was already dead at the time and that Stephan Sterns moved her body in the early morning hours on that day,” Mina said. “We have video evidence that shows Stephan Sterns discarding items in a dumpster in that apartment complex in Kissimmee at 7:35 a.m.”
Video captured his driving his silver 2010 Lincoln MK back to the apartment complex with the body still in the vehicle after throwing out items in a dumpster, cops said.
He never dropped the girl off at school like he had previously told investigators, officials said.
Sterns reportedly told police at first that he “accidentally” performed a factory reset on his phone the day Madeline was reported missing.
He had told investigators that he dropped her off in front of a preschool at 8:40 a.m., blocks from her middle school, where classes start at 9:30 a.m.
Madeline’s mom went to pick up her daughter from school about 4:30 p.m. and was told she never showed up, police said.
Sterns, who is being held in the Osceola County Jail without bond, has not been charged in connection to Madeline’s death.
Her mother has not been identified as a suspect in her disappearance or death.
