Michael Caruso, a 67-year-old former Republican state representative whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed as Palm Beach County's clerk of courts and comptroller, was arrested Tuesday on accusations he molested a young boy repeatedly over a period of months.
Local police and officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement took Caruso into custody on allegations that include lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, kidnapping, child abuse causing mental injury, and luring or enticing a child. DeSantis suspended Caruso from his appointed post the same day via executive order and made clear he has no sympathy for the man he once elevated to public office.
The charges stem from a probable cause affidavit released by the governor's office. That document alleges Caruso preyed on the boy more than half a dozen times beginning around Thanksgiving 2024, at the child's home, on fishing excursions, and during a family cruise. Caruso had regular and unsupervised access to the child, NBC News reported. Some of the alleged abuse occurred under the guise of a game Caruso called "tickle monster."
The chain of events leading to the arrest began in December, when the boy's father confronted Caruso about the alleged abuse. Caruso denied it. But during that same conversation, he acknowledged that he had showered with all of his own children and disclosed that a female relative had previously accused him of "sexually inappropriate behavior, including sexual battery."
He also made a statement the affidavit preserves in plain language. Caruso told the boy's father:
"You tell anyone, I'm going to jail."
The boy's father also spoke with Tracy Caruso, Michael Caruso's wife. She told the father her husband faced a "life in jail kinda thing" if police learned about the alleged behavior, according to the affidavit.
Months later, in February, the father confronted Caruso a second time, this time wearing a wire coordinated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. During that recorded conversation, Caruso argued the allegations were impossible because, as the affidavit paraphrases it, he claimed sexual deviation is directed toward only one sex, and because he is attracted to women he could not be a sex offender.
He also urged the father to stay silent. The affidavit quotes Caruso telling him:
"If you report this to the authorities, there won't be any of me left, I can tell you that."
DeSantis appointed Caruso to the Palm Beach County clerk of courts and comptroller post roughly a year ago. Caruso had served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2018 to 2025 and campaigned alongside DeSantis in Iowa during the governor's 2024 presidential bid. He was running for re-election to retain the appointed post in November.
At a news conference Tuesday, DeSantis said he had no knowledge of any allegations against Caruso before the appointment.
"Of course not. He had a clean vet, he was well-regarded in the community."
DeSantis said the decision to remove Caruso was immediate once the allegations surfaced.
"It was a very easy decision for me to yank him from this position."
He went further, noting that Florida has a death penalty for convicted pedophiles and warning that if Caruso is found guilty, "he is going to be in a world of hurt."
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a statement the same day. "Being in a position of public trust provides no shield from accountability," Uthmeier said.
Lisa Haba of The Haba Law Firm, who represents the alleged victim, criticized the governor's office for releasing information she said could identify the boy. In a statement posted on her firm's website, Haba called the disclosure a breach.
"Child sexual abuse victims should never have identifying details about them released, and it is abhorrent that the child victim in connection with the arrest of Michael Caruso has been subjected to this breach."
The specific details Haba objected to were not identified in available reporting. Tracy Caruso's phone went unanswered Tuesday. It remains unclear whether Michael Caruso has retained a defense attorney.
Several questions remain open. The affidavit references a prior accusation of sexually inappropriate behavior, including sexual battery, by a female relative, but no further details about that earlier allegation have been disclosed. The precise nature of Caruso's relationship to the victim's family, and how he gained regular unsupervised access to the child, has not been publicly explained.
None of that ambiguity changes the weight of what the probable cause affidavit describes: a man who held public office, who had the trust of a governor, and who, according to the sworn document, used his access to a child to abuse him repeatedly, then pressured the boy's father to keep quiet.
If the allegations hold up, no political affiliation and no government title should slow down what comes next. The law exists to protect the people who cannot protect themselves, starting with children.
