'Cruel and brutal offense:' Teen receives 31 years to life for murder of Cleveland 14-year-old

    CLEVELAND, Ohio (WEWS) -- It will be more than 30 years before a Parma teenager could walk free. Thursday, a Cuyahoga County judge handed down a life sentence to Steven Sopko, with a possibility of parole after 31 years.

The now 17-year-old did not react when Judge Nancy Fuerst shared his fate. Sopko was tried as an adult and convicted for the 2023 murder of 14-year-old Braylon Hardges.

His trial began on Oct. 21.

“I want to say thank you to the prosecutors and to the detectives and everybody for bringing me justice for my baby,” Braylon’s mother, Seaerra LeFlore, said during her victim impact statement.

She told News 5 after Thursday’s hearing that she was satisfied with the sentence.

“I’m so happy, I really am, that we took him off the streets,” she said. “I think what the judge gave him today is a nice length of time not just for my son, but for the safety - like she said - of the public."

Sopko was convicted on murder, aggravated murder and felonious assault charges for Braylon’s death. During his trial, prosecutors detailed how the then 16-year-old shot the 14-year-old more than a dozen times in the back.

Both LeFlore and the judge believe the crime was more than a youthful mistake.

“I don’t blame his mother, I don’t blame his father, I blame Steven because in life you know right from wrong,” LeFlore said. “This is not a video game, this is real life. And he’s got to understand that. Hopefully one day he can come back to society and prove himself.”

During sentencing, Judge Fuerst told Sopko, “This is a sentence that’s meant not only to protect the public, but to punish you for this cruel and brutal offense. It’s way beyond youthful indiscretion or bad judgment.”

Sopko declined to speak Thursday, and his motives for the shooting are unclear.

“I wanted him to say why. I think the world wants to know why,” LeFlore said.

She brought her son’s remains to the hearing Thursday as a reminder of what was taken from her family.

“I wanted the world to know what he did to my baby. That’s what I’m left with. This is all I’ve got,” she said.

LeFlore recalled her son’s warm personality and promising future. She said he excelled in sports and was already thinking about college options when he was in middle school.

“He was just the life of the party, the smile that lit up the room,” she added. “I promise you, if y’all would’ve met him, y’all would’ve loved him.”

The defense said Sopko plans to appeal his conviction. For now, LeFlore said she’s grateful to close this chapter so she can continue grieving her son.

“I’m going to truly miss my child, I really am,” she said.