Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez has been cited by state prosecutors for allegedly posting a photo on Instagram that displayed Madeline Soto's body, according to ClickOrlando. Thirteen-year-old Soto's body was found on March 1 in a wooded area near St. Cloud following her disappearance four days earlier. The photo's release, which was said to be accidental, breached Florida laws protecting the confidentiality of minor homicide victims.
The photo appeared on the sheriff's social media in a post intended to commemorate a community event. "Earlier today a post was made on social media about a community event for seniors," Lopez's spokesperson said in a statement. "In the post, an investigative photo was accidentally included. The photo was immediately removed." The civil citation Lopez faces comes with a fine of up to $500 and is considered a non-criminal infraction, as detailed by ClickOrlando.
Additional developments have revealed that on the same day the photo of Soto’s body emerged online, a civilian employee of the sheriff's office, Nirva Rodriguez, was involved in another controversial post. She uploaded a self-taken picture with Stephan Sterns, the man charged with Soto’s murder, to her Facebook page, accompanied by a religiously themed caption and hashtag of her name, as noted by ClickOrlando. That post was also later deleted.
Lopez, who is currently not facing criminal charges for the photo disclosure, is scheduled to either pay the penalty or appear in a court hearing set for December 20. He's also in the midst of an election cycle, with the shadow of this incident hanging over his re-election campaign, where he contends against five challengers, as reported by WESH 2. The office of the sheriff has yet to issue a new statement on the charge.
