OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – The man convicted of raping and murdering 13-year-old Madeline Soto in 2024 has been officially declared a sexual predator, court records show.
A judge sentenced Stephan Sterns to life in prison in July after he pleaded guilty to sexually battering the teen and no contest to homicide.
[START TO FINISH: Here’s the full timeline of the Madeline Soto case]
Prosecutors filed a motion last month asking the judge to sign a written order designating Sterns as a sexual predator.
Circuit Court Judge Keith Carsten signed that order on Sept. 24, which requires Sterns to comply with Florida’s sexual predator registration requirements.
Florida’s online registry of sexual offenders and predators now includes Sterns.
Soto is the daughter of Sterns’ former girlfriend Jennifer.
Sterns originally told detectives he dropped the teen off at Hunter’s Creek Middle School on the morning of Feb. 26, 2024.
Authorities found Soto’s body in a wooded area near St. Cloud four days later. The medical examiner ruled her cause of death as strangulation.
[WATCH: News 6 Investigator Mike DeForest’s ‘Justice for Madeline’ series]