Stephan Sterns pleads no contest to murder, guilty to sex crime charges in Madeline Soto case

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – The man accused of raping and murdering 13-year-old Madeline Soto pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and guilty to 20 counts of sex crimes.

Stephan Sterns has previously pleaded not guilty to raping and murdering Soto, who was the daughter of Sterns’ former girlfriend.

While searching for the girl, investigators said they uncovered images on Sterns’ phone and Google Drive that showed him raping the teen.

He was expected to go on trial this week in the sexual battery case, but with the plea hearing, Sterns could accept guilt or plead no contest to both of the cases he is facing. This includes the capital murder case, and with a change of plea, Sterns could avoid the death penalty.

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Soto was reported missing on Feb. 26, 2024, when she didn’t show up to Hunter’s Creek Middle School. Law enforcement later found her body on March 1, 2024, in the woods along Hickory Tree Road near St. Cloud.

Authorities believe Soto was sexually molested, strangled, and dumped in a wooded area by Sterns.

Investigators said Sterns had been caught on surveillance cameras throwing items into a dumpster at a Kissimmee apartment complex the morning Soto went missing. Soto’s backpack and school-issued laptop were later found in that same dumpster.

At some point during the day, Sterns told Soto’s mother that he had factory reset his phone while trying to update it.

Despite Stern’s factory-resetting his phone, detectives said they were able to find child pornography and evidence that Sterns had been sexually abusing Soto as far back as 2022.

Trial attorney Eben Self, who is not involved in the case, explained that Sterns could either plead guilty or no contest in both cases.

“Let’s say the agreement is life in prison without the possibility of parole. Then that would clearly be a reflection of a plea bargain. And it isn’t necessarily a sign of weakness by this state attorney’s office. There’s a lot of reasons why defendants get offered life without the possibility of parole rather than the death penalty,” he said.

Prosecutors had announced plans to seek the death penalty for Sterns during his murder trial, which was scheduled for later this year.

Neither the defense of prosecution has said if a plea deal has been reached.