The Gulf Breeze Police Department served a warrant on a Gulf Breeze Proper resident last Monday and booked him into Santa Rosa County Jail after the Niceville Police Department completed an investigation and obtained a warrant for the 46-year-old man who they claim paid an underage teen for sexual favors.
The suspect, Bradley James Stegmeier was booked into Santa Rosa County Jail and extradited to Okaloosa County Jail on July 27 via the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
Stegmeier was charged with Sexual Battery on a person that’s 16 or 17 years old and Unlawful Sexual Act with a Minor.
The charges stemmed from an investigation case by the Niceville Police Department that opened up earlier this year.
According to his arrest report, on April 21 and May 13, Stegmeier met a 16-year-old girl at the Comfort Inn and Suites and the Holiday Inn Express in Niceville and allegedly paid the 16-year-old for sexual favors.
The victim in the case told investigators that she was paid $300 for favors in April and $500 the second time the two individuals met up.
Parents of the teen found information on the victim’s phone which prompted them to call police about the illegal activity, according to the WCSO arrest report.
The teenager was eventually called into the Niceville Police Department for questioning. During the interview in May, the teen admitted to officers that she had made an account profile on a site called “arrangementfinders.com” and wanted to sell sexual favors for money.
She claimed she met Stegmeier on the website and offered to give sexual favors in return for cash.
Investigators contacted one of the website’s representatives and were able to obtain access to Stegmeier’s profile.
Arrangementfinders.com is owned by Ashley Madison, a company based out of Canada.
According to the arrest report, the suspect’s profile on the website included Stegmeier’s photos and basic information.
The victim told authorities that she told Stegmeier she was 18 years old on numerous occasions.
Investigators conducted a search warrant on the victim’s phone where they found information on the phone that led them to believe the two had met up. They also located Stegmeier’s phone number in the cell phone’s contacts. The report indicated that Stegmeier was listed as “Brad” under the victim’s contacts on her phone.
Police investigators were able to track the phone number back to Stegmeier, and determined the phone was a “throw phone”, a phone that’s not registered to anyone. The phone did, however, return signals out of Santa Rosa County.
A witness who was with the victim when one of the sexual acts took place claimed they drove the 16-year-old to the Comfort Inn in Niceville and watched the two meet up. The report stated the witness observed the suspect and victim enter the hotel room, and the witness waited for the two to emerge and “finish”. The witness said when the victim returned to the vehicle, she had $300 on her.
During their investigation, law enforcement was able to verify that the two had stayed at the hotels via receipts from the hotels and surveillance video.
The suspect refused to talk to law enforcement despite numerous interview requests.
The victim was able to identify Stegmeier in a photo lineup provided to her. The victim also gave law enforcement officers the description of a distinctive tattoo Stegmeier had on his right hip, which was a group of dolphins in a yin-yang pattern.
Stegmeier was released from Okaloosa County Jail after posting $50,000 bond.
