DeSantis Suspends his Palm Beach Clerk Appointee after Child Sex Abuse Arrest

On Tuesday, Governor Ron DeSantis suspended Mike Caruso—whom he had appointed as the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller last August—following Caruso's arrest on five felony charges involving child sexual abuse and kidnapping.

The suspension prohibits Caruso from performing official duties, receiving pay, or accessing office privileges while the legal proceedings continue.

Caruso faces counts of kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child, and child abuse causing mental injury.

The arrest warrant affidavit identifies the alleged victim as Caruso's grandson, a boy under the age of 12, with allegations stemming from incidents occurring between 2024 and August 2025, including during a family cruise in 2025.

Caruso, 67, served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2018 to 2025. The Republican is running for election in November, but as no other Republican filed for the primary, his name is was not on Tuesday's primary ballot.

Officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested and booked Caruso into the Palm Beach County jail early Tuesday.

Caruso's first wife and mother of their seven children had previously accused him of sexually assaulting a child. Caruso has also been the subject of multiple reports to the Florida Department of Children and Families, but details of those incidents are not public.