JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida prosecutors say then-50-year-old Kent Stermon, a GOP donor and powerbroker who died by suicide in December 2022, posed as a Taylor Swift tour security staffer to try to trick a much younger woman into sending topless photos in exchange for VIP access to a Swift concert in Tampa.
A report from The Florida Times-Union detailing the state's investigation into Stermon said he used a fake e-mail address to impersonate a security staffer for Swift's "Eras Tour" in an unsuccessful attempt to coerce her into e-mailing him a topless photo.
According to evidence outlined in the report, the woman was not a minor and she knew Stermon, whom DeSantis had appointed to Florida's Board of Governors, was influential and had offered to help other people get special access to events. Stermon had also offered to put in a good word for her to the president of a Florida university.
In November 2022, the woman asked Stermon if he could help her get tickets to Taylor Swift's concert at Raymond James Stadium scheduled for the following April. Stermon claimed he could get her VIP access if she coordinated with backstage managers at the Tampa venue. He then gave her an e-mail address that he claimed belonged to one of the managers.
Through that e-mail address, Stermon started asking the woman questions about her sexuality and requesting topless photos, which she declined to send. According to the report, this prompted Stermon to change tactics and offer to reimburse the woman if she bought the tickets and then came to his office in Jacksonville.
When the woman came to his office, Stermon reportedly offered her thousands of dollars to have sex with him and, when she declined, he intimidated her into showing him her breasts.
The woman subsequently told her father about the encounter. Her father angrily confronted Stermon at a local Panera and then informed the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Stermon killed himself about one week after the police had opened their investigation into him.
According to State Attorney Melissa Nelson, prosecutors continued investigating Stermon after his death to try to determine whether he had victimized any other women. Investigators reportedly had not found any other victims.
