Gov. Ron DeSantis says he and his staff were unaware of an earlier child sex abuse accusation lodged against now-former Palm Beach County Clerk Mike Caruso before tapping him for the job last August, despite court records showing the claim.
Speaking to reporters, DeSantis said “of course not” when asked if any information surfaced about claims Caruso’s ex-wife made about him sexually assaulting one of their children in documents filed during their divorce in 2012.
“He had a claim that — he was well-regarded in the community,” the Governor said. “There was a lot of people that wanted him to be appointed to that position, and there was none of that information in any of the vetting material.”
DeSantis then pointed out that it was the state, through Attorney General James Uthmeier — whom he also appointed last year — that initiated an investigation into Caruso, who now stands accused of sexually assaulting and molesting his grandson.
“State law enforcement did it, and the charges were brought by the statewide prosecutor,” he said before predicting that a local prosecutor, “maybe in Miami-Dade,” will take point on the case.
“It’s obviously horrific crimes, but it’s also tough to build these cases, and so they’ve worked very hard to build a case that could withstand the legal system,” he said. “But once they were willing to go and pull the trigger, you know, on the arrest, obviously, it was a very easy decision for me to yank him from that position.”
DeSantis went on to note that Florida was the first state in the country to reintroduce the death penalty for convicted pedophiles through legislation Caruso voted for in 2023. Two years later, DeSantis signed another bill Caruso supported to establish human trafficking as a capital felony offense. One of the charges Caruso faces is kidnapping.
“I’m proud I signed that into law, and I’m proud that we have a very strong penalty for people that abuse children,” DeSantis said. “And if he’s convicted, he is going to be in for a world of hurt.”
DeSantis’ comments came hours after law enforcement authorities arrested Caruso, a thrice-elected state lawmaker and noted ally of the Governor, following an investigation into the alleged sexual assault, kidnapping and molestation of a minor under 12. The boy’s father, a relative, initiated the investigation and by reporting him to police and later participated in recording conversations with Caruso.
Caruso’s prior alleged victim was a girl, according to court reports.
The Clerk’s Chief of Staff, Shannon Ramsey-Chessman, has been sworn in as interim Clerk.
Former Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book, a childhood sexual abuse survivor and child protection advocate now running for Senate District 30, condemned DeSantis and his administration for failing to sufficiently redact an arrest affidavit the Governor’s Office released to shield the identity of the victim.
She cited the voter-approved 2018 constitutional amendment known as Marsy’s Law, which is meant to protect crime victims from additional harm by, among other things, concealing identifying information about them.
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Editor’s note: This report was updated to remove identifying information about the alleged victim.
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