KISSIMMEE, Fla. — New details have been released in connection with charges of sexual battery of a child against 37-year-old Stephan Michael Sterns, who has been named the primary suspect in the disappearance and death of 13-year-old Madeline Soto.

Sterns has not yet been charged in connection with Soto's death, but is being held without bail at the Osceola County Jail on a charge of sexual battery of a victim younger than 12 by a familial or custodial authority, sexual battery by a familial or custodial authority, and possession of materials showing a sexual performance by a child.

Orange County investigators initially identified Sterns as the boyfriend of Soto's mother, but the arrest warrant from the Kissimmee Police Department says she identified him as the girl's step-father. No information was immediately available to clarify if Sterns was indeed married to Soto's mother at the time of the girl's death.

According to authorities, Sterns — who was supposed to drop the teen off at school — is believed to be the last person to see Soto alive when she went missing on Feb. 26. Her body was found in a wooded area of Osceola County on March 1.

During the investigation into Soto's disappearance, investigators reported sitting down for an interview with Sterns, who gave them permission to search his phone, but said he had "accidentally performed a factory reset on his phone on Feb. 26, 2024."

Despite it being reset, officers were able to access the phone and allegedly found several explicit photos and videos of a young girl that appeared to have been recorded in the Kissimmee home he shared with Soto and her mother. 

The arrest affidavit did not identify the victim in Sterns' sexual battery case other than to say she was a girl born on Feb. 22, 2011. He is accused of abusing her at least two times — in August of 2022 when she was 11, and again when she was 12.

Soto's death is being investigated by the Kissimmee Police Department as a homicide. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Crimeline by phone at 800-423-TIPS (8477) or online.