On Wednesday, a Florida judge postponed the child sex trial for the man charged in last year’s slaying of 13-year-old Madeline Soto.
CourtTV reported that Stephan Sterns, 38, waived his appearance at all pre-trial hearings, meaning he was not in court when his lawyers asked to postpone his February 24 trial because they had not accessed crucial images and videos in his case.
Assistant State Attorney Danielle Pinnell told Judge Carsten that they have not reviewed the evidence, which due to its sensitive nature, can only be viewed at the prosecutor’s office. The defense is scheduled to view that evidence next month, according to CourtTV.
READ: Months After Her Murder, 13-Year-Old Madeline Soto’s Cause of Death Revealed
Sterns’ attorneys filed a motion to throw out evidence investigators found on his cell phone and online Google Drive account, claiming it was illegally obtained. Despite Sterns factory-resetting his phone, investigators said they not only discovered child pornography — but evidence suggesting that he had been sexually abusing Soto as early as 2022.
WESH reported that Sterns’ Google Drive account had images and videos of him raping Soto starting when she was eight.
Sterns’ attorneys claimed investigators illegally accessed his Google Drive account a day after Soto vanished. They claimed Orange County Detective Maria Tagler asked Sterns to photograph his cell phone history and check the phone’s settings, to which Sterns agreed.
“Detective Tagler with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office unilaterally seized Mr. Sterns’s cell phone without consent, without a warrant, and without exigent circumstances,” the latest motion stated. “The phone was then retained for over nine-and-a-half hours before law enforcement coerced a purported ‘consent’ for its forensics examination.”
Prosecutors have not yet responded to the latest motion.
Sterns is Soto’s mother’s boyfriend who lived with them. Soto vanished on February 26, and Soto claimed he dropped her off at school that day. 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.”
Soto was allegedly seen discarding a child’s items in a dumpster the morning of Soto’s disappearance. Authorities reportedly found a laptop and backpack in the dumpster.
On March 1, Soto’s body was reportedly found in a wooded area in Osceola County. Sterns was said to be in the area changing a tire days prior. An autopsy determined she was strangled.
In addition to murder, Sterns is charged with sexual battery of children under 12, sexual battery of children 12-18, lewd and lascivious molestation, and possession of child sexual abuse material. According to CourtTV, his child sex trial is now scheduled to start on May 5.
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[Feature Photo: Orange County police]