Agents in Florida discover “disturbing images”: Madeline Soto's stepfather would have sexually abused her since she was 11 years old

The evidence handled by the authorities in Florida indicates that Madeline Soto, a missing minor who was found dead five days later, would have suffered sexual abuse by her stepfather for years.

Court documents cited this week by WESH indicate that the suspect in the death of the 13-year-old minor abused her for at least two years.

At the beginning of the investigation, agents had the theory that Stephan Sterns began abusing the girl when she was 12 years old. However, a new criminal complaint shows that the boss allegedly started earlier.

The investigation into the death of the teenager continues. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office indicated that officers found disturbing images on the man’s cell phone.

Some of these were from August 2022, when Madeline was 11 years old.

Documents held by the Kissimmee Police Department say Soto was a victim of sexual assault, and evidence suggests Sterns is responsible.

The alleged abuses were reported in the home that Soto, her mother and the man shared. Sterns was Soto’s mother’s boyfriend.

At this time, the alleged abuser remains detained in the Osceola County prison on charges of sexual assault and possession of child sexual abuse material.

Sterns was arrested last week.

The man, who appeared in court for the first time on Saturday, has not been formally charged with the death of the young girl.

Authorities allege that the suspect provided his cell phone for inspection, but indicated that he accidentally reset it on February 26, the day Soto disappeared.

Despite the alteration, investigators were able to recover the videos and images from the device.

The day the child disappeared, it emerged that Sterns had dropped her off at Hunter’s Creek Middle School.

However, County Sheriff John Mina later revealed that the victim was never dropped off at the scene.

Mina added that a video shows Sterns throwing items into a trash container, around 7:35 am on that day.

The teenager’s body was found in a wooded area in Osceola County last Friday after a five-day search.