JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Editor's note: The video attached to this story is from a previous, related story.
An investigation by the State Attorney's Office has concluded that if he lived to face justice, Republican insider Kent Stermon would have been charged with several crimes.
At the time of Stermon's suicide in Dec. 2022, had been under investigation by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for less than two weeks. That investigation concluded earlier this year, and a final report issued Friday unravels that implicates Stermon on charges of solicitation for prostitution, false imprisonment, theft by false pretenses, obtaining by trick or false representation and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
“Sextortion and fraudulent schemes like this have become more prevalent as people exploit technology and use manipulation, fear, and power to coerce vulnerable individuals into terrible predicaments," State Attorney Melissa Nelson said in a statement issued with the report. "These crimes are often unreported because victims are afraid or embarrassed to come forward. The victim in this case told her story so no one else would potentially suffer in silence."
Stermon's charges stemmed from what officials called a "bizarre and fraudulent scheme" to trick a young woman to expose herself using the promise of Taylor Swift tickets and backstage passes.
Stermon was a Republican donor and political insider, a personal friend of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former JSO Sheriff Mike Williams and former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry. FloridaPolitics.com writer A.G. Gancarski, who has covered the state's politics for over a decade and knew Stermon, called him "the man behind the man" in DeSantis' political career.
He was also a close ally of law enforcement in Northeast Florida, granted unfettered access to JSO headquarters for ten years, wielding a 'Sheriff's Circle' ID badge. He was named JSO 'Citizen of the Year' in 2016 and at the time of his death had a seat on the Florida Board of Governors.
The State Attorney's Office report concludes that Stermon could have been charged for tricking a woman identified only as "Jane Doe" into sending him inappropriate photographs via email, and offering her money to show him her breasts and perform sexual acts in his office at his company, Total Military Management. The report says Stermon refused to allow her to leave his office until she did what he asked.
In a statement release by the State Attorney's Office, the victim called the incident "traumatic" but said she was grateful her story was substantiated.
“This has been a traumatic event, but I am grateful for the support of my family, friends, and those who have helped me over the past ten months," she said. "I am thankful the investigation confirmed my experience, and I am relieved no one else has or will have to go through what I did. My hope is that my experience provides reassurance to victims in other similar crimes that they will be heard and seen."
She continued, "Despite this ordeal, my and my family’s heart breaks for the Stermon family. Psalms 31.”
According to the report, law enforcement continued its investigation after Stermon's suicide in an effort "to determine whether this incident was a singular event or part of a pattern involving other victims or other perpetrators. To date, the investigation has not revealed any evidence indicating other victims or implicating other perpetrators. Further, no evidence has been discovered indicating a broader scheme to defraud or extort other victims."
'Bizarre and fraudulent scheme'
Stermon's communication with the victim began through Facebook Messenger. According to the SAO's report, casual conversation led to the beginning of an elaborate plot after Jane Doe asked Stermon if he could help her get tickets to Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour."
Stermon said he could "do (her) one even better." He claimed to know "backstage coordinators" at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, and gave her a Hotmail and Yahoo email address he claimed belonged to the venue's security staff.
Both email addresses actually belong to Stermon.
Stermon told Jane Doe she would need to send photographs to these people and answer questions. At Stermon's urging, she sent pictures to the Hotmail account. The Yahoo account then contacted her, saying her "uncle" had reached out about the tickets.
"The email included a 'survey' and a series of questions, including, among other things, DOE's sexual orientation and degree of promiscuity," the report reads. The sender also asked her if she was "comfortable turning it up a notch" and sending more photos.
The exchange continued until the sender asked Doe for pictures of her naked breasts. According to the report, "She refused, saying that was her 'boundary.'"
Doe told Stermon about this exchange, the report says. He responded, "Proud of you buddy," and said if she purchased tickets, he would reimburse her.
Three days later, on Nov. 15, 2022, Doe met Stermon at his office in Jacksonville to pick up the money.
Although the tickets cost $1,400, Stermon gave her $1,500 in cash, telling her the extra $100 was so "she could get her nails done." He also told her she should send the photographs of her breasts to the Yahoo account if she wanted to get backstage.
'You can't leave without giving me something'
The report says Stermon then made a series of requests, offering her $10,000 to give him a lap dance, or $5,000 if she had 'Facetime Sex' with him.
When she declined, the report says Stermon told her: "You can't leave here without giving me something," and that whatever that "something: was, "It has to be more than 30 seconds."
The report says he "demanded" she expose her breasts. Doe was afraid and wanted to leave, but she "did not believe she was free to leave."
Stermon then gave her his cell phone and told her to set a timer for 30 seconds and expose her breasts until the timer went off, before she could leave. She complied; Stermon allowed her to leave, walking her to the back of the building.
Before she left, Jane Doe told police Stermon said, "You're that uncomfortable, you can't even give me a hug goodbye?"
The following week, she told her mother and her boyfriend what had happened.
The report says on Nov. 29, 2022, her father, who knew Stermon, asked to Stermon meet him at a Panera restaurant and confronted him. The father said Stermon had "f*cked with the wrong family," and he was going to "bury" him. He threw the $1,500 in cash at Stermon and left. (Reports from British tabloid the Daily Mail claimed Stermon attempted to bribe the father for his silence, the report says, but the SAO determined the claims were false.)
After the incident, Doe and her family went to the police.
On Dec. 9, 2022, Stermon was found dead in his car in the parking lot of a post office in Atlantic Beach. He never faced criminal proceedings for his actions.