His trial for sexual abuse charges now pushed back to July
The May trial for Stephan Sterns, the man accused of sexually abusing Kissimmee teen Madeline Soto, has been delayed now to July after a judge heard defense motions Wednesday to suppress evidence in the case they say police acquired through an illegal search.
The trial is now scheduled for the week of July 14, with a July 2 pretrial hearing. Judge Keith Carsten instructed attorneys to file all motions to be heard that day by June 30.
Sterns is also charged with Soto's 2024 murder and is scheduled to stand trial for that in September. He has pleaded not guilty and faces the death penalty if convicted of killing Soto.
His defense filed motions to suppress evidence Orange County Sheriff's detectives pulled from Sterns' phone and Google drive -- thousands of photos and videos of sexual assault on Soto -- as they claim his phone was illegally seized, providing illegal access to his Google drive, and that investigators never obtained a search warrant.
Carsten did not rule on the motions Wednesday; he said he will issue a written ruling in coming days.
At the hearing prosecutors noted how detectives asked for Sterns' consent during the evening of Feb. 27, 2024 and into the morning of Feb. 28, and he gave it. Three detectives involved in questioning Sterns in the parking lot of the Hoagland Boulevard apartment complex where he occasionally lived with Soto and her mother -- his girlfriend -- Jennifer.
Sterns was in attendance, and spoke at length for the first time since the case began 14 months ago. He testified that he gave consent for investigators to check his Google Maps, and was asked if he was logged into Google. He said he thought that was extent of the search, and that he understood at the time police had no warrant.
Det. Maira Tagler testified for the state that on the evening of Feb. 27, about a day and a half after Madeline was reported missing, she asked Sterns to see his phone, and he consented, standing by her side, when she checked it. She noted a lack of call or map history on the phone; he had performed a factory reset of it earlier in the day.
Tagler testified she interviewed him again later in the evening and asked for the phone. After a period of time she reportedly asked Sterns, "Can we search your phone, or are you going to make us get a warrant?" to which he again consented. Overnight, the phone was taken for a forensic deep-dive, to find any files or information that was wiped from the phone as a result of the factory reset. A forensic investigator explained how executing a factory reset on Sterns' Samsung phone requires multiple steps and wouldn't be done "accidently" while updating the phone's software.
Prosecutor Danielle Pinnell noted the fact that investigators thought potential evidence was would be destroyed before a search warrant could be obtained created probable cause and an exception for a warrant-less seizure of the phone.
Sterns' defense argued Tagler made a "declarative statement" about keeping Sterns' phone rather than asking the question if she could. And, since a warrant can be obtained, during the night through emergency procedures, but wasn't, the detectives' actions were "purely an investigative seizure."
On Tuesday, Judge Carsten heard a motion from defense to delay Wednesday's motion hearing, as Sterns' attorneys noted they had "Come into possession of confidential information that may impact the presentation of evidence at that hearing." Carstens denied the motion, clearing the way for Wednesday's hearing.
