The political donor behind Ron DeSantis's rapid rise to prominence took his own life after he was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with an underaged teen, a DailyMail.com investigation has revealed.
Kent Stermon's suicide in December came shortly after the girl's father turned down a 'five-figure sum' in a hush-money deal and reported him to the police instead, we have learned.
The prominent DeSantis ally and GOP donor, who was based in Jacksonville, Florida, was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with the girl, for whom he obtained highly sought-after Taylor Swift concert tickets which he said he'd give her if she sent him a photo of her breasts.
Kent Stermon pictured with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. A DailyMail.com investigation found the political donor was facing allegations of sexual misconduct involving a minor when he died by suicide on December 8
Evidence photos included in the Atlantic Beach Police incident report obtained by DailyMail.com reveal the scene where the DeSantis supporter was found after he shot himself dead
Stermon alluded to the investigation and the looming fallout in a handwritten note to his sister and another individual whose name was redacted, saying he loved them 'both too much to put you through this'
After the girl reluctantly complied, Stermon insisted she collect the tickets at his office – but when she turned up he refused to let her leave until she 'showed him the real thing,' law enforcement sources say.
The teenager balked at the idea and he eventually let her go.
She later told her boyfriend and her father about the encounter, prompting her dad to furiously confront Stermon at an arranged meeting at a diner in Atlantic Beach, according to sources.
It was there that Stermon offered him the five-figure sum to keep quiet, but the dad refused.
Not too long after on December 8, Stermon killed himself just as Jacksonville police were launching their probe into the girl's claims.
DeSantis nominated Stermon to Florida's board of governors, the body which oversees the state's university system, in 2019
DailyMail.com understands that while the girl is now a legal adult, those investigations uncovered allegations that Stermon had had an inappropriate relationship with the girl when she was a minor.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has repeatedly refused to comment on the investigation when contacted by DailyMail.com saying the probe is ongoing.
But it did refer to 'the victim', indicating the probe is focused on one person's allegations.
This ties in with our own inquiries about a man with a reputation for reveling in using the power he had created for himself.
'To me, Stermon killing himself simply over one incident with an adult doesn't pass the litmus test,' one law enforcement source told DailyMail.com. 'There's more to it.
'Very possibly it was the start of the rope that would unravel. It is the possibility of exposing what might have happened when the girl was a minor in their acquaintance.'
The source added: 'At worst what happened recently was false imprisonment and a request to look at her breasts. That's not enough.
Stermon's note was found face down alongside a bullet casing in the seat of his black pickup truck
The handgun recovered at the scene of Stermon's suicide. The 50-year-old shot himself in the right temple, according to police reports
Stermon had a tight relationship with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) which provided him with a swipe badge to access facilities and areas within buildings, which he used on more than 200 days since 2017, records show.
'After all, he could have claimed, hey, we're both adults. She flirted with me, I flirted with her, she consented to be in my office.
'But when she was younger – that's the key to the investigation.
'As a convicted sexual predator, he would have been looking at 15 to 20 years. And for someone who lived in a multi-million-dollar home in an exclusive gated community, that is some downfall.'
Stermon's attorney David Barksdale did not return calls for comment.
Stermon was an immensely powerful behind-the-scenes figure in DeSantis's rise, having had a major impact in catapulting him to the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee in 2018.
The following year DeSantis appointed his friend to the Board of Governors which is responsible for Florida's public university system.
DeSantis also put him on his transition team and for a while DeSantis rented a condo co-owned by Stermon, according to Politico.
Now DeSantis, 44, is seen as the most likely candidate to derail Donald Trump's bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
He is widely expected to run, but he has not yet officially announced.
'Kent was very influential,' Florida politics reporter A.G. Gancarski told First Coast News after his death.
'You wouldn't have Ron DeSantis as governor without Kent Stermon,
'He was big with everything in the local party and the state party.'
Stermon was also in failing health at the time of his death. He had suffered a stroke just three days earlier and his heart was constantly monitored remotely by the Mayo Clinic.
Stermon, who was known as a 'cop groupie' is pictured with former Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams after he was named 'Citizen of the Year' in 2016. He had an access key for the sheriff's office HQ despite not working there
According to law enforcement sources, Stermon had allegedly obtained hard-to-get tickets to a concert on Taylor Swift's Eras tour in exchange for a photo of her breasts
His wife Christie discovered he was dead when the clinic called her to say the monitor had stopped.
On the day of his death Christie asked him if he wanted to join her on a trip to a pet store, but he said he wanted to rest.
Shortly after, he texted his daughter telling her he was going out to get gas, but instead drove seven miles to a post office in Atlantic Beach, Florida, where he shot himself in his gray 2021 Dodge Ram truck in the parking lot in the early evening.
The location has led to speculation that he may have mailed an item crucial to his case.
After his death, the Governor's office released a statement saying DeSantis and his wife Casey, a former Jacksonville TV reporter, 'were shocked and saddened to hear of Kent's passing, and their prayers are with his family during this difficult time.'
We can also reveal that Stermon shot himself in the right temple with a semi-automatic handgun – and left a poignant hand-written note on lined paper to 'Sis' and another person, whose name has been redacted by Atlantic Beach Police in incident reports and photos exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com.
It read: 'I love you both too much to put you through this. You are better w/o me!' Then he added mysteriously: 'Go find your version of Jackson Short & be happy!'
Although the words Jackson Short are redacted on a photograph of the note obtained by DailyMail.com through the Freedom of Information Act, his name is not blacked out from the accompanying police incident report.
Jackson Short is chief investigator for the State's Attorney's Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, a role he took over in January this year.
Previously he was director of investigations and homeland security at Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, where Stermon controversially had almost unfettered access after being issued with a swipe card.
At the time of Stermon's death, a statement from DeSantis's office said the governor was unaware of the investigation and added: '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'
The note was on one of three pieces of paper found by officers on the passenger seat of the truck – and with a bullet fragment sitting on them. One was blank and another message was written on the other, but the words have been redacted in the police report. The ones with messages were facing down.
A cell phone in the vehicle was later handed over to JSO 'as evidence in an ongoing investigation', added the Atlantic Beach Police paperwork in a clear reference to the sexual misconduct probe the agency had launched.
Atlantic Beach Police incident photos show Stermon slumped in the driver's seat, his head on his chest and his right arm resting on the center console. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt and gray sweat pants.
Stermon, president of Total Military Management logistics company in Jacksonville, was known around the town as a 'cop groupie'.
He was given the swipe badge by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) to access facilities and areas within buildings, which he used on more than 200 days since 2017, records show.
The businessman was one of nine members of a group known as the Sheriff's Circle, who all had similar access swipe cards.
These were mainly given to civilians who had regular business with the sheriff's office, such as vendors.
He was first given badge access to Jacksonville police buildings in 2013 when the sheriff was John Rutherford, who is now Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Florida's 4th Congressional District.
The congressman is reported to have received $16,800 from Stermon's company.
However, none of the other Sheriff's Circle members used their access with anything approaching the regularity of Stermon, who last swiped his card on November 15, 2022. One member used his just three times.
'It was common knowledge to not only myself but to many employees that Mr. Stermon had high-level security access privileges to JSO facilities for years,' former assistant chief Lakesha Burton told First Coast News.
'He made his heavy involvement in the inner workings and politics of the agency well known to all ranks.'
Stermon, whose donations to DeSantis include $53,000 from his political action committee and $6,000 of his own cash, almost immediately had his JSO badge access disabled once the probe into the girl's allegations began.
On December 8, Stermon texted his daughter to say he was going out to get gas, but instead drove seven miles to a post office in Atlantic Beach, Florida, where he shot himself in his truck in the parking lot
However, he still carried the badge with him, we can reveal. It was photographed by cops among other belongings in his truck. There was also a Florida Highway Patrol advisory council card with his name and photo.
A source told DailyMail.com: 'I believe this is how it probably played out after the sexual misconduct allegation was made.
'The JSO drafted a warrant or probable cause affidavit for an interview, saying something like we need you to come in – the last thing you want is a SWAT team at your door and you being led away in handcuffs in front of your neighbors.
'That is what mostly happens with a prominent individual.
'I don't know if he did go in for an interview. But when they made that call, he may have thought to himself, that he knows what he did. In his mind he knows what he's done over time.
'And he knows that he doesn't know what the JSO know.'
Police called to the suicide scene by worried Post Office workers had to smash a window with an axe to get into the locked truck, the police reports reveal. Detective Carl Johnston wrote: 'Once the driver's door was opened no gun was immediately seen in plain view but there was a pool of blood on the floorboard.'
The pistol was found lodged between the driver's seat and the center console. Another firearm was found inside the console.
Atlantic Beach Police Commander Tiffany Layson said in her report obtained by DailyMail.com that she went to the Stermon home the day after he shot himself to speak to his widow.
'Ms Stermon had some questions surrounding her husband's death, however she did not wish to answer any questions or offer additional information as to what was going on with Stermon prior to his death,' she wrote. The next sentence was redacted.
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