WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Michael “Mike” Caruso was arrested early Tuesday on charges related to child sexual abuse, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced.
Uthmeier disclosed the arrest in a post on X shortly before 8:45 a.m., saying it was carried out “with substantial assistance from FDLE and local law enforcement.” He said the investigation remains open and that his office would release additional information to the public.
As of publication, no arrest affidavit, charging document, or booking record had been made public, and neither the Attorney General’s Office nor the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had specified the number of counts, the statutes involved, or where the alleged conduct occurred. WPTV first reported the arrest Tuesday morning.
An arrest is an accusation, not a finding of guilt. Caruso is presumed innocent unless and until the state proves the charges in court. No attorney of record for Caruso had been identified as of this posting.
Who Caruso is
Caruso, 67, is a certified public accountant who spent seven years in the Florida House of Representatives, serving District 89 from 2018 to 2022 and District 87 from 2022 until his resignation last summer. He first won the seat in 2018 by 32 votes, a margin narrow enough to trigger both a machine and a manual recount, and was reelected in 2024 with roughly 59 percent of the vote.
Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Caruso clerk on August 18, 2025, filling the vacancy created when Democrat Joseph Abruzzo left the post to become Palm Beach County administrator. Caruso was sworn in by 15th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Glenn Kelley at 12:01 a.m. the following day and spent his first morning administering the oath of deputy clerk to more than 200 employees. He described the appointment at the time as “the honor of my life.”
The appointment came weeks after Caruso broke with House leadership by casting the lone vote against an immigration enforcement package that conflicted with the governor’s position, a vote that cost him his chairmanship of the House Infrastructure Subcommittee. Florida Phoenix reported that the move made him the first Republican to hold the Palm Beach County clerk’s office.
The office he holds
The clerk of the circuit court and comptroller is an independent constitutional officer, elected directly by voters and accountable to them rather than to the county commission or the courts. Caruso’s office describes a workforce of nearly 650 employees serving more than 1.5 million residents on an annual operating budget of about $76 million.
The job carries unusual reach. According to the office, the clerk serves simultaneously as chief financial officer, treasurer and auditor, county recorder, and clerk of the board of county commissioners, while maintaining civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, and adoption case files for the 15th Judicial Circuit. Some of those record categories are confidential or sealed under Florida law and are accessible only to registered users or attorneys of record.
Election and succession questions
Caruso is on the ballot in November to hold the seat for a full term. He drew no opponent during qualifying, so his name does not appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot, which Florida voters are casting statewide today.
Under Article IV, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution, the governor may suspend a county officer charged with a felony, and the Florida Senate has the power to remove or reinstate that officer. DeSantis has used that authority repeatedly during his tenure, including against elected state attorneys and school board members. The governor’s office had not announced any action regarding Caruso as of publication.
If a suspension occurs, the governor may appoint a temporary replacement to run the office. Neither the clerk’s office nor the county had issued a statement about operations or leadership Tuesday morning.
Context: the AG’s enforcement push
The arrest lands in the middle of an aggressive statewide enforcement campaign by Uthmeier, who was appointed attorney general by DeSantis in February 2025. Five days ago, Uthmeier announced at a Fort Myers news conference that his office and its law enforcement partners had passed 2,000 arrests of accused child predators since he took office, and he publicly criticized judges he said had handed down lenient sentences in child sexual abuse material cases.
Charges involving child sexual abuse in Florida vary widely in severity depending on the statute. Possession of child sexual abuse material is a third-degree felony per count, promotion of that material is a second-degree felony, and sexual battery on a child under 12 is a capital felony. Without a charging document, the exposure Caruso faces cannot be stated.
What comes next
Caruso would be expected to appear before a Palm Beach County judge for a first appearance within 24 hours of booking, when bond and pretrial conditions are typically set. The Attorney General’s Office said it will provide more information to the public, and the Office of Statewide Prosecution has handled a number of Uthmeier’s child exploitation cases.
The Space Coast Rocket is requesting the arrest affidavit, the probable cause statement, and the booking record, and will update this story as documents are released and confirmed. Anyone with information relevant to this story can contact us at rwburns3rd@gmail.com or 407-810-3200.
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