New reporting revealed Tuesday that Kent Stermon’s suicide came shortly after he was accused of sexual misconduct with an underage teen. Stermon —a staunch DeSantis ally and GOP donor—was found dead in December just shortly after the girl’s father declined a “five-figure” hush money deal and reported Stermon to the police, the Daily Mail reported. Jacksonville police say the investigation is still ongoing, but Stermon allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl, to whom he offered Taylor Swift concert tickets in exchange for photos of her breasts. An anonymous law enforcement source told the Daily Mail that this might have just been the tip of the iceberg, though. “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 said. Stermon’s influence in Florida’s Republican Party was vast, with him largely being credited for Ron DeSantis’ recent political success. “Kent was very influential,” Florida politics reporter A.G. Gancarski told First Coast News following his death. “You wouldn’t have Ron DeSantis as governor without Kent Stermon.”
