Stephan Sterns’ guilty plea to sexually abusing Maddie Soto keeps him off death row
Stephan Sterns, the man prosecutors said sexually assaulted for years, then murdered, 13-year-old Kissimmee girl Madeline Soto has changed his pleas from not guilty to all charges, to no contest to the first-degree murder charge, and guilty to the sexual battery charges.
As part of a plea deal offered by the state, Sterns will no longer face a trial for the sexual abuse charges that was scheduled to begin Tuesday, and he will not face the death penalty. He has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Monday's hearing, complete with a jam-packed gallery of media and onlookers, also negates the need for Sterns' murder trial, which was scheduled for September.
In a 2024 jailhouse phone call, Sterns told his parents, “I'd rather be on death row, because it's a much easier way out.” Sterns’s mother, Debra Sterns, told him in the call, “From what we heard, your judge does not like the death penalty,” she said. “He thinks it's too lenient. You're going to have to go to jail for the rest of your freaking life. I hate to say it, but I'd rather have you on death row, because you're in more seclusion and you're not really with the bulk of the population of the people.”
But that’s exactly where Sterns will be heading under the sentencing handed down by Judge Keith Carsten. Following tearful victim statements from Soto’s friends and family, Carsten said, “The court has had an opportunity to hear the anguish and the fury of a meaningful future that was stolen and the beautiful promise of Madeline Soto’s life extinguished permanently.”
Neither Sterns’ parents, nor Madeline’s mother Jennifer Soto — that side of the family was represented by the girl’s grandmother and aunts — were in Courtroom 4F for Monday’s plea hearing.
Sterns was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree premeditated murder of Madeline Soto; life in prison without the possibility of parole for the capital sexual battery of Madeline Soto while she was under the age of 12; life in prison without the possibility of parole for the sexual battery of Madeline Soto between the ages of 12 and 18; life in prison without the possibility of parole for the lewd and lascivious molestation of Madeline Soto. “These are the maximum sentences permitted to the court,” Carsten said.
Soto was reported missing on Feb. 26, 2024, and her body was discovered later that week on March 1 in a field behind a fence on Hickory Tree Road south of St. Cloud. Sterns was arrested on Feb. 28, and the State Attorney’s Office levied 60 charges of sexual battery on a child under 12, lewd and lascivious molestation and possessing thousands of photos and videos depicting the acts. In April, a first-degree murder charge was added.
In a statement to the court, Sterns said, “I agree that it's not fair that Madeline is not here anymore. I still have a hard time contemplating a world where she's not around, a world which feels less vibrant and less colorful than it did before. I’ve prayed to God countless times to trade places with her, to take me instead. Unfortunately, that's just not how he works. I have nothing but sorrow for her loss and I miss her all the time. Her passing has torn me and my family apart, as well. She truly was a joy. I pray to God that she is in heaven and that he's taking good care of her, and I hope she gets to join the choir, because she had a beautiful voice. I will miss her all the time. I will never not honor her memory. And I apologize for all the pain.”
All parties involved — Sterns' defense team, prosecutors, Soto's friends and family, and Madeline's birth father and stepmother Tyler and Tatiana Wallace — left the courthouse without making a statement.
Deborah Barra, a former prosecutor and Osceola Sheriff's Office legal counsel who served as the Wallace's counsel, said the family was not in a frame of mind to speak Monday.
"The sex crimes trial was set to start Tuesday, with a lot of videos. That's their little girl," Barra said after Monday's hearing. "(Tyler) recognizes Stephan Sterns will die in prison.
"He is not getting out. Ever."
Editor Ken Jackson contributed to this report.
