KISSIMMEE, Fla. — In the wake of a state investigation into a social media post he made in March that included a photo of 13-year-old Madeline Soto’s body, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez responded to questions Friday about the incident.

What You Need To Know

  • On Friday, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez responded to criticism and questions about a March social media post that included a photo of 13-year-old Madeline Soto’s body

  • Soto was reported missing on Feb. 26 and her body was found in a wooded area of Osceola County on March 1

  • Stephan Sterns is facing numerous charges in the case and State Attorney Andrew Bain has said he plans to see the death penalty

  • After a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation, Bain said there is not enough evidence to show the photo was “willfully and knowingly” posted to social media

  • Lopez was still cited in the case and could face a fine of up to $500

Soto went missing on Feb. 26 and it wasn't until days later that her body was found in a wooded area of Osceola County on March 1.

Stephan Sterns has been accused of sexually abusing Soto and later kidnapping and killing her. He is facing dozens of charges in the case.

State Attorney Andrew Bain said in June that he planned to seek the death penalty for Sterns.

In the case involving Lopez, Bain said that after a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation, there was not enough evidence to show the photo was “willfully and knowingly” posted to social media. Regardless, Lopez received a non-criminal citation for the incident.

But, the State Attorney said the release of the photo was a violation of Florida’s public records laws.

On Friday, Sheriff Lopez told Spectrum News that he made a mistake, and that he didn't mean to post the photo.

In a Wednesday statement from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, it was explained that Lopez had the photo in his possession because the OCSO was the agency that found Soto's body.

"The photograph was inadvertently posted in a photo array about a senior citizen event and was taken down within 10 minutes of realizing the error," the OSCO statement said.

On Friday, Lopez said he accepted the blame for what happened.

“We immediately took it down, issued an apology, and put out a statement," he said. "I took full responsibility for everything that I did."

Bain's office said in a letter, that officials were having difficulty squaring the statements made to law enforcement with another statement Lopez made saying the photo “wasn’t actually the body.”

On Friday, Lopez said investigators misunderstood what he meant.

Lopez said he was describing what could be clearly seen in the photo and didn't mean to imply that it didn't include Soto's body.

“There’s no difference from what was told to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s investigation," he said.

In his letter, Bain formally requested the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an internal investigation into Lopez's “inconsistent statements.”

Lopez said he welcomes the idea and his agency was working out the logistics.

“We are looking at it now, and we just haven’t decided if it’s going to be a full internal with us, or if we’re going to decide to turn it over (to a different agency),” he said.

Lopez said he understood the incident with Soto's photo could cause some Osceola County residents to question his trustworthiness.

“And that’s fine — that’s fair," he said. "Like I said, they can look at my track record, I’ve been a law enforcement officer —  I’ve been at this agency since 2003, and my integrity has never been in question."

The non-criminal citation issued to Lopez could include a fine of up to $500.

He said he plans to pay the fine well before the Dec. 20 deadline.

Bain's said that once the results of the internal investigation are received, his office will determine if the incident warrants including Lopez in the Brady Notification System — which is a list of law enforcement officers who have been accused of misconduct.