Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez faces a non-criminal court case, following an investigation into a crime scene photo he or his agency posted to an Instagram account showing a body believed to be Madeline Soto.
Lopez has been named and charged with a public records violation in the case by the Office of the State Attorney of the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
The offense is listed as, “Failed to comply with Florida public records laws making a photograph that depicts the killing of a minor confidential and exempt from public disclosure in violation of (Florida Statutes) … Did publish a photograph depicting the killing of a minor, to wit: Madeline Soto.”
A hearing is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 20 at 8:30 a.m.
Neither Lopez, the Sheriff’s Office or the State Attorney’s Office have responded to messages seeking comment. The Florida Sheriff’s Association was holding an event Tuesday morning in Orlando, where Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke, which Lopez may have attended.
Back on March 2, the morning after the body of 13-year-old Soto was discovered south of St. Cloud, a group of images from a Sheriff's Office's community event was posted to its Instagram account. Included in that was what the agency called an "investigative photograph" of a body wearing a green shirt and blue jeans. As it was believed to be Soto, the photo, which was available to see for a short time that morning, caused community uproar. State Attorney Andrew Bain asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate, and Lopez’s representatives sent a release two days later saying it offered its, “Cooperation and transparency into the inadvertent release of an investigative photograph … We understand the community’s concerns and we welcome an independent review of what transpired."
