A plea hearing is set for Monday for the man accused of murdering and sexually abusing 13-year-old Madeline Soto.
At 1:30 pm on Monday, a plea hearing for Stephan Sterns is set to occur at the Osceola County Courthouse. According to WESH 2 reporter Gail Paschall-Brown, a source indicated that during this hearing, Sterns intends to plead guilty to the charges he faces in both cases.
The first case involves Sterns being charged with the murder of Soto. The second involves 60 counts related to the alleged sexual abuse of the young girl.
If Stern’s plea is accepted, the trials, scheduled to begin jury selection on Tuesday, will be canceled, WESH 2 reported.
CrimeOnline had previously detailed that on March 1, 2024, Soto’s body was discovered by authorities in a wooded locale in Osceola County. An autopsy confirmed that she had died from strangulation.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said she was found off Hickory Tree Road around 4:30 p.m. Police found the body after receiving a tip following a press conference.
Sterns, who was initially arrested on child pornography charges after police found images on his cell phone, despite Sterns factory-resetting his phone. Investigators said they not only discovered child pornography — but also evidence suggesting that he had been sexually abusing Soto as early as 2022. Sterns was later charged with murder and related charges.
WESH reported that Sterns’ Google Drive account had images and videos of him raping Soto starting when she was eight.
Sterns is Soto’s mother’s boyfriend, who lived with them. Soto vanished on February 26, 2024. Sterns told police he took her to school that Monday morning, but dropped her off about a half mile away. However, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said they now believe that wasn’t true and that “she was already dead at the time and that Stephan Sterns moved her body in the early morning hours on that day.”
During the hearing on Monday, victim impact statements will be given by those who loved and cared about Soto and who have been greatly affected by her death and what the child endured, according to News 6.
