DeSantis ally and appointee is arrested on child sex abuse charges

Michael Caruso was removed as Palm Beach County’s clerk of courts and comptroller after his arrest was announced

A former Florida lawmaker and political ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis was arrested Tuesday and accused of molesting a young boy at the child’s home, on fishing excursions and while on a family cruise, arrest records show.

Michael Caruso, a 67-year-old Republican whom DeSantis appointed as Palm Beach County’s clerk of courts and comptroller a year ago, was taken into custody by local police and officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

“Being in a position of public trust provides no shield from accountability,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement Tuesday.

After the arrest was announced, DeSantis suspended Caruso from his post and noted in an executive order that the allegations include lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, kidnapping, child abuse causing mental injury, and luring or enticing a child.

Caruso had regular and unsupervised access to the child, a probable cause affidavit released by the governor’s office said.