Murdered Florida schoolgirl Madeline Soto's stepfather is charged with SIXTY child porn and sex abuse crimes - but not with the 13-year-old's killing

Madeline Soto's stepfather has been charged with sixty child porn and sex abuse crimes - but not with killing the 13-year-old.

Stephan Sterns, 37, the boyfriend of Madeline's mother Jenn, was charged with a slew of new charges on Tuesday involving children.

The charges include sexual battery on a child under 12; five counts of sexual battery of a child aged 12 to 8; seven counts of lewd and lascivious molestation. 

Additionally, 40 counts of unlawful possession of 10 or more images depicting a sexual performance by a child, according to Andrew Bain State Attorney in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Stephan Sterns, 37, was charged with a slew of new charges on Tuesday including, sexual battery on a child under 12; five counts of sexual battery of a child aged 12-18; seven counts of lewd and lascivious molestation

Madeline 'Maddie'' Soto went missing on February 26, a day after she celebrated her 13th birthday that was on February 22nd 

Soto's body was found in a wooded area of Osceola County on March 1

Sterns was already facing charges of sexual battery of a child under 12, and was being held without bond at the Osceola County Jail. Officials said he has not been charged in connection with Soto's death.

According to a February 29 arrest affidavit, during the investigation into Soto's disappearance, Kissimmee Police found several images and videos on Sterns' phone.

During an interview with investigators, he gave them permission to search his phone, and reportedly told them he had 'accidentally performed a factory reset on his phone on February 26, 2024.'

Despite it being reset, officers were able to access the phone and allegedly found several explicit photos and videos of a young girl that appeared to have been recorded in the Kissimmee home he shared with Soto and her mother, according to My13News Orlando. 

In Stern's sexual battery case, the victim's identity was not revealed in the arrest affidavit, only that it was a female born on February 22, 2011.

Madeline 'Maddie' Soto's birthday was also February 22nd. Sterns was accused of abusing the young girl at least twice — in August of 2022 when she was 11, and again when she was 12.

The affidavit resulted in the first three charges filed against him. State Attorney Bain said: 'The State Attorney's Office has been working closely with KPD and received evidence that gave us cause to file formal charges against Sterns. 

'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.' Sterns will eventually be arraigned on the charges. 

Jennifer Soto (left) pictured alongside her 13-year-old daughter Maddie

Police found messages on Madeline's phone that said once she was 13, she wanted 'to go live in the woods.' The girl is seen in a picture with her mother Jenn and her boyfriend Sterns

Police found the teenager's body a short distance away from where she lived

Stearns supposedly drove his stepdaughter to school on the morning of February 26, and claimed that he dropped her off at a nearby church. 

When Soto's mother went to pick her daughter up at her middle school, Hunter's Creek Middle School, later thd day, she discovered that her daughter never showed up at school.

The frantic mother called police, and the Orange County Sheriff's Office deputies searched extensively for the teen using bloodhounds as they canvassed the area near the school.

Missing posters of the light brown-haired, blue-eyed Maddie Soto were also distributed, and a press conference was held by the Orange County Sheriff John Mina.

On February 28, three days after Soto went missing, Stearns was arrested on unrelated charges and named 'prime suspect' in the case. 

On March 1, Stearns was moved by police from Orange County to Osceola County.

Soto's body was found in the woods during a coordinated search in the area off Hickory Tree Road around 4.30pm Friday afternoon. She was found in the clothes she was last wearing - a green sweatshirt, black shorts and white Crocs.

According to reports, Sterns was seen driving his silver 2010 Lincoln MK car with the teenager's lifeless body still in the vehicle after dumping her backpack and laptop in the trash.   

The area where Soto's body was discovered is where Sterns had been seen driving and seen at the side of the road changing his tire.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina and Kissimmee Police Chief Betty Holland announces that their investigation has led them to believe that 13-year-old Madeline Soto was killed by primary suspect Stephan Sterns

Surveillance footage captures Sterns throwing items into a dumpster at an apartment complex in Kissimmee at 7:45am on Monday morning.

The objects were later recovered and found to be Madeline Soto's backpack and school-issued laptop.

Sterns was then captured for a second time on video as he returned back to his neighborhood with Madeline's body said to be visible.

Police say they believe the teenager was never dropped off at Hunter's Creek Middle School on Monday morning having been killed hours earlier in Kissimmee.

Police said investigators discovered 'disturbing images' when they looked through Sterns' phone, along with proof that he attempted to delete evidence of the related material.

After his arrest, Sterns invoked his right to an attorney and declined to speak during his interview. Investigators said he was also the last person to see the girl.

On Friday afternoon, the Orange County Sheriff's Office held a press conference in which that stated that they were 'confident' the girl was dead.

Sheriff John Mina broke the 'devastating news' to Madeline's mother on Thursday night.

'We believe he moved her body in those early morning hours, and all that is still under investigation,' Sheriff Mina explained.

'Searches are continuing as we speak, and we have people who are working nonstop. So every lead that comes in, every piece of evidence that we receive, we're gonna follow up on that, and if that leads us to a new search area, we'll be out all weekend,' Mina said.

According to the State Attorney's office, sexual Battery on a Child Under 12 is a capital felony, punishable by life in prison if a defendant is convicted.

 Charges of Sexual Battery with a Child 12-18 and Lewd or Lascivious Molestation are first-degree felonies that carry sentences of up to life in prison if a person is convicted. 

If convicted, a defendant can receive up to five years in prison for each count of Unlawful Possession of Materials Depicting Sexual Performance by a Child.