Palm Beach County clerk of court arrested on child sex abuse charges

Palm Beach County Clerk of Court Michael Caruso, 67, was arrested Tuesday morning on five felony child sex-abuse charges, including kidnapping, lewd molestation and child abuse causing mental injury. Governor Ron DeSantis immediately suspended Caruso from his duties, barring him from performing any official functions, receiving pay or accessing office privileges.

According to an affidavit filed in Orange County Circuit Court, the alleged offenses span nearly a year and involve incidents such as a fishing trip in November 2024 where the victim says Caruso touched him inappropriately, and a seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise in August 2025 during which Caruso is accused of separating the child from other adults and engaging in further misconduct while the ship was in international waters.

"If you tell anyone I will get arrested. I will just go away. You tell anyone I'm going to jail," Caruso reportedly told family members when confronted in December 2025.

A February 2026 recorded interview with law-enforcement officials shows Caruso denying the allegations, claiming they were "impossible" because he is attracted only to women.

The victim has been receiving therapeutic services since April 2026. The Haba Law Firm, representing the child, issued a statement confirming the investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other agencies.

Shannon Ramsey-Chessman, chief of staff and chief deputy clerk for the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, was sworn in as clerk ad interim following the arrest. Caruso will be held without bond in the Orange County Jail pending his first appearance, and Attorney General James Uthmeier indicated additional charges may be filed. The case is being prosecuted by Special Counsel Rita Peters and Senior Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Lauryn Day in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Caruso, appointed by Governor DeSantis in August 2025 after seven years in the Florida House of Representatives, was running unopposed for election in November, but his name will not appear on the primary ballot after the arrest.