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.
