OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — In just over a week, attorneys are expected to begin selecting the first jury to try Stephan Sterns since he was accused of murdering 13-year-old Madeline Soto last winter.
Next week’s trial will not focus on the girl’s death. Instead, jurors will decide on the 60 sexual abuse charges against Sterns, which investigators said came from a search of his cell phone. The trial for the murder charge is set for September.
Detectives said they found numerous photographs and videos of Sterns raping and assaulting the girl for years, back to shortly after Sterns began dating Madeline’s mother.
Sterns pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorneys used their time before the judge on Monday to request several conditions to be set before the trial.
- Newspaper access
Sterns’ attorneys requested that newspapers be removed from the courthouse during jury selection and the trial, starting next Tuesday, because a rack of newspapers usually greets the public as they enter, and they expect Sterns’ coverage to make the front page. The judge said the county controls the delivery of newspapers but agreed to the request.
- Camera and cell phone restrictions
Attorneys requested that cameras inside the courtroom be prohibited from zooming in on their notes, a request prosecutors also supported. It’s standard procedure for local news cameras, which usually provide pool access, to avoid displaying sensitive information, but prosecutors noted that “true crime” internet bloggers are expected to attend the proceedings and may not be as familiar with the rules.
They requested an expansion of the judge’s order to include a cell phone ban for anyone not credentialed by the 9th Circuit, and the judge approved this request.
- Sterns will be restrained
Attorneys requested that Sterns be allowed to attend court without restraints to prevent escape. Deputies noted it is common for a defendant facing serious charges to wear some kind of device, and offered a newer-style shock bracelet that would wrap around Sterns’s ankle.
After Sterns’ attorneys inquired about accidental firings—which the judge noted had happened in the past—the judge ordered Sterns to wear a more restrictive leg brace.
As with any unconvicted defendant, Sterns will wear a suit for the trial, and the brace will be concealed from the jury.
- Sterns will get a special pen
In what the judge called a first, he approved Sterns’ request to use a felt-tip pen for note-taking instead of the flexible pens typically provided to inmates.
The attorneys explained that the inmate pens are notoriously hard to use. The judge tested one, scribbling on papers in front of him.
The judge noted that the three-inch flexible pens look different and could distract the jury.
- A TV will be used
Prosecutors notified the judge and the press that they will wheel a TV into court to show jurors the photos and videos of Madeline’s abuse.
The images and recordings of the abuse are illegal and prosecutors said the TV screen would be turned away so the public could not see the material.
Prosecutors said five of the recordings include sound. They told the judge they do not plan to request the courtroom be closed when they play the videos because they didn’t think they had the grounds to make the request
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