A Florida sheriff’s office has apologized after “accidentally” posting a crime scene photo of a deceased 13-year-old girl on Instagram.
The body of Madeline “Maddie” Soto was displayed in one of the now-deleted featured photos posted to Osceola County Sheriff Marco Lopez’s Instagram page. The Orlando Sentinel reported..
The photo, posted a day after Soto’s body was found Friday after a five-day search in the St. Cloud suburb, is meant to publicize recent incidents involving police and senior citizens. It was posted as the third photo in a series of unrelated images.
“A post was posted on social media regarding a community event for seniors. The post mistakenly included an investigative photo,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “The photo was immediately removed. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.”
A similar issue later surfaced when Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Executive Director Nirva Rodriguez posted a selfie of herself with Stephen Stearns, the boyfriend of Soto’s mother and the main suspect in the case. It was raised.
An image posted on Rodriguez’s personal Facebook page shows Stern being handcuffed and led away by police, along with the caption: “If God’s love is in your life, then evil cannot be.” Don’t let anything take you away from anything,” the caption in Spanish reads. He has prepared it for you. ”
Like the Instagram post, Rodriguez’s selfie has since been deleted.
The sheriff’s office noted that State Attorney Andrew Bain had been alerted to the photos and called the incident “deeply upsetting” and “inadvertent,” but said it did not believe it would affect the case. He said there was.
Former Sheriff Russ Gibson, who is running to retake the seat, blamed his opponents and the former sheriff for the error, claiming that Soto’s body had been released by Lopez himself.
“This photo was taken at the crime scene where Madeline’s body was recovered and was exactly that, a photo of Madeline’s lifeless body. This is 100% unacceptable and 100% devastating to Madeline, her family and friends. % shameful and disrespectful!” Gibson wrote on Facebook..
It’s unclear whether anyone at the sheriff’s office will face charges over posting Soto’s body, because Florida law prohibits publishing images of deceased minors without the family’s permission.
Kissimmee police, which is investigating Soto’s death, did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Stearns, who was arrested in Kissimmee after allegedly throwing Soto’s backpack and school supplies in a trash can, has not been charged with capital murder, but police found child sexual abuse material on Soto’s cell phone. , was detained and imprisoned.
He is being held without bail and is charged with sexual assault of a child, capital sexual assault, and possession of material depicting sexual acts by a child.
Stearns had previously appeared on local television crying about Soto’s disappearance.
