Teacher accused of enticing minors for sex allegedly taught Madeline Soto

Yahoo

12-02-2025

ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) — A middle school teacher at the center of a sex crime investigation reportedly taught Madeline Soto, the 13-year-old girl who was killed after her disappearance last year.
According to a federal affidavit, 25-year-old Italo Rafael Brett Bonini, of Orlando, was arrested by the FBI on Feb. 5 for enticing a minor for sex using the platform, Discord.
The suspect targeted an 8-year-old boy and a 6-year-old from Maryland in January. Brett Bonini lured the 8-year-old to reveal his private area, while he enticed both children to engage in sexual acts with him over video chat and sometimes with each other.
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He also messaged the kids to move their computers to 'a more private spot away from the adults.'
When officials questioned Brett Bonini he claimed he was 'not even gay,' and that he 'fell into temptation,' claiming he is 'not a sick individual' and that he had made a mistake, the affidavit said. He admitted to targeting children because 'he could control them.'
Brett Bonini, who was a chorus teacher at Hunter's Creek Middle School, according to NBC affiliate WESH, also taught Soto, who was a seventh-grade student at the school when she disappeared in February 2024.
According to court documents obtained by Click Orlando, Brett Bonini was interviewed by investigators three days after her disappearance. The teen was reportedly enrolled in his sixth-period class.
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'She usually is very participatory. She's usually up performing with us. She doesn't miss a concert,' Brett Bonini reportedly told a detective. 'She just seemed pretty normal. Very happy. Easy making of friends.'
Click Orlando said when Soto disappeared, Brett Bonini received a message from the teen's mother through the school district's communication system, saying that her daughter never came home. He reportedly sent a reply, informing Soto's mother that she was marked absent that day.
Court records show detectives were never concerned over Brett Bonini during Soto's case.
Soto's stepfather, Stephan Sterns, is the 'prime suspect' in her case, accused of sexually abusing and killing the young girl. Soto was last seen alive on the morning of Feb. 26. Authorities believe Sterns killed her when he was supposed to drop her off at school that day.
After dumping her school items in a dumpster, he returned to their Orlando apartment complex with her, presumably dead at that point, in the car. Soto's body was later found near the woodline of Old Hickory Tree Road in Osceola County.
Sterns, however, has yet to be convicted for the crime.
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