Nearly one year ago, Florida Republican mega-donor Kent Stermon committed suicide after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into allegations he pressured a teen girl into committing sexual favors in exchange for Taylor Swift concert tickets. A major player within the Florida Republican Party, Stermon was a close friend and ally to Governor Ron DeSantis, as well as former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and Sheriff Mike Williams.

‘No Gov. DeSantis Without Stermon’.

When a 2015 federal lawsuit resulted in a new Florida congressional map drawing then-Congressman DeSantis’s home outside the Florida 6th Congressional District he had previously represented, Stermon came to his aid. The donor and executive at Total Military Management rented his Flagler County condo to DeSantis, ensuring he’d be able to run for re-election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District. And when DeSantis launched his bid for Florida Governor, Stermon was one of the few initial political movers to back his campaign. According to Florida politics reporter A.G. Gancarski, “You wouldn’t have Ron DeSantis as governor without Kent Stermon.”

When DeSantis won what was initially a long-shot bid for the Florida governorship, Stermon was rewarded for his loyalty and support with DeSantis appointments to the Board of Governors for Florida’s State University System and the Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council. He was also named chair of the Governor’s Public Safety Transition Advisory Committee. “It’s good to be the governor’s bestie,” Stermon is said to have boasted.

Taylor Swift Tickets.

While Stermon was expanding his political influence – including being given his own access card to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office headquarters – he also launched a scheme to seduce a teen girl. According to a report published in September 2023 by State Attorney Melissa Nelson, Stermon told the teenager he could procure VIP tickets to an April 2023 Taylor Swift concert in Tampa, as well as securing backstage passes. The offer, in reality, appeared to be a ploy to coerce sexual favors. The teen, whose identity include age has been withheld by authorities, was instructed by Stermon to purchase the tickets with a promise he would reimburse her.

The State Attorney report also indicates Stermon escalated his plan, telling the girl he “…could facilitate backstage access and a meet-and-greet for the victim to meet Taylor Swift. In order to obtain backstage access, Stermon explained that she would need to communicate directly with the ‘backstage coordinators.'” Unbeknownst to the victim, the email she was given to contact the ‘backstage coordinators’ was actually a dummy email being used by Stermon. Using the dummy account, Stermon “deceptively coerced” the teen into sending him provocative photos – including an image of her bare-breasts.

Shortly before the Swift concert in Tampa, the victim was instructed by Stermon to meet him at his office to receive her reimbursement for the concert tickets. When the teenager arrived, Stermon gave her $1,500 to cover the cost of the tickets and then proceeded to offer her $10,000 in exchange for a “lap dance” and $5,000 for “Facetime sex.”

Though the victim rejected Stermon’s cash offers for sexual favors, she said she was pressured to remove her top and expose her breasts to him for 30 seconds – which he made her time using his phone. After being coerced to expose herself and give Stermon a hug, she was allowed to leave the office – stating in the report: “I just wanted to get out of there. I was very frightened because he’s a bigger guy, and I am a small woman. I was unsure of what might happen.”

When the victim’s father became aware of Stermon’s sexual advances on his daughter, he confronted the political king-maker after arranging a meeting at an Atlantic Beach diner.

“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,” Nelson said in a statement. “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.”

Suicide.

In June of 2022, Mike Williams stepped down as Jacksonville Sheriff and was appointed Special Agent in Charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) in the Jacksonville field office by DeSantis. It has been reported Stermon was involved in facilitating the FDLE appointment for Williams as well as helping select his eventual replacement, current Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters.

It appears the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was made aware of the allegations against Stermon shortly after Waters won a special election and assumed office in November of 2022. The same month, Waters revoked Stermon’s access card to the sheriff office’s headquarters and opened an investigation into DeSantis’s friend and political ally.

Facing a local law enforcement investigation, Stermon suffered a stroke in early December 2022. Days later, on December 8th, Stermon was found dead in his pick-up truck at an area Post Office around 8pm. The Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide via a single gunshot wound to his right temple. His gun was found between his seat and the truck’s center console. Stermon’s wife had reported him missing earlier in the day after his heart monitor stopped its remote-relaying of data to the Mayo Clinic.

The day after Stermon’s suicide, Governor DeSantis’s office issued a statement reading: “The Governor and First Lady were shocked and saddened to hear of Kent’s passing, and their prayers (and our entire office’s prayers) are with his family during this difficult time.” According to POLITICO, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office claimed DeSantis had “no knowledge” of the investigation into Stermon.

READ THE REPORT IN FULL: