Madeline Soto's biological father breaks his silence after the Florida schoolgirl, 13, was found brutally murdered - as prime suspect stepfather is booked on child porn and sex abuse charges

The biological father of murdered Florida girl Madeline Soto is speaking out and says 'every father knows what I'm thinking' about his ex-wife's boyfriend, who is charged with child porn and sex abuse. 

Soto, 13 was found in woods close to where she disappeared a week ago, four days after she was reported missing by Osceola County Sheriff's Office search teams at 4:30pm on March 1. 

Investigators say her body found was wearing clothing similar to what Maddie was last seen wearing - a green sweatshirt, black shorts and white Crocs.

The grim discovery came hours after police revealed Madeline's mother's boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, 37, is the 'prime suspect' in her murder. He supposedly drove Soto to school the morning of February 26, and said he dropped her at a nearby church.

Tyler Wallace, Madeline's biological father, gave his first interview on Friday and talked about his grief for his daughter, as well as his desire for answers as to who killed her. 

The biological father of murdered Florida girl Madeline Soto is speaking out and says 'every father knows what I'm thinking' about his ex-wife's boyfriend, who is charged with child porn and sex abuse

Madeline 'Maddie'' Soto went missing on February 26, four days after she celebrated her 13th birthday

'I loved what I had of her but we were supposed to have so much more,' said Wallace, who lives in Texas separate from his daughter but frequently communicated with her via social media, according to WFTV. 

Wallace drove 14 hours from Texas to Florida the day after Madeline was declared missing after she never showed up for class on the 26th. He had last spoken to her on her birthday four days earlier.

'Maddie was just the most important person to my wife and I, she was just full of joy,' Wallace added.

When asked about Sterns, Soto's stepfather who has been charged with sixty child porn and sex abuse crimes and is the prime suspect in the murder - he didn't know much, only interacting with him via Instagram.

'As far as I was interpreting his demeanor, he seemed like a warm, interested but not responsive person.'

When asked what he thinks of Sterns now, Wallace said: 'I don't want to say that on camera. I can't communicate to you. Every father knows what I'm thinking right now.'

The charges against Sterns 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. 

Tyler Wallace (pictured right) with his daughter, Madeline Soto. Wallace said he had last spoken with Madeline on her 13th birthday

Madeline's mother's boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, 37, is the 'prime suspect' in her murder. Wallace said he didn't know much about the man, only interacting with him via Instagram

When asked what he thinks of Sterns now, Wallace said: 'I don't want to say that on camera. I can't communicate to you. Every father knows what I'm thinking right now'

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.

Wallace was asked what he thought Madeline's mother Jennifer Soto may have known about her boyfriend and their daughter's disappearance.

'I don't know and I am interested in knowing but I don't have reason to believe one way or the other right now. These are the things that the investigators are looking into.' 

While he waits to learn more about what led to his daughter's shocking death, he is simply a grieving father.

'She meant everything to us,' Wallace said. 'I was just waiting to see her more.' 

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. 

Jennifer Soto (left) pictured alongside her 13-year-old daughter Maddie. Tyler Wallace, Maddie's father, says he doesn't know what Jennifer knew about Sterns or their daugther's disappearance

'She meant everything to us,' Wallace said of Maddie. 'I was just waiting to see her more' 

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 

In Sterns; 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's birthdate.

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. 

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 Hunter's Creek Middle School later that 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.

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

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

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 that same day. 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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.