Michael Allen Caruso, a former Florida House member whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed as Palm Beach County's clerk of courts and comptroller, was arrested early Tuesday on allegations of molesting and kidnapping a child.

Caruso, a 67-year-old Republican who faces no opponent in Tuesday's primary but is running for re-election in November, was booked that same day into the Palm Beach County jail on suspicion of molestation, kidnapping, luring and enticing a child, lewd and lascivious exhibition, and child abuse, according to his arrest affidavit, as reported by the Miami Herald. Several of the offenses charged, including lewd or lascivious offenses against a victim younger than 12, carry potential life sentences under Florida law.

Hours after the arrest, DeSantis issued an executive order suspending Caruso from office, exercising his authority to remove elected officials accused of crimes. Under the Florida Constitution, a suspension remains in effect unless the state Senate, which has the power to remove or reinstate a suspended official, takes action, and the governor may fill the office by appointment for the duration of the suspension. DeSantis has invoked the same authority before, suspending other Florida officials including two elected state attorneys. "Being in a position of public trust provides no shield from accountability," Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement.

According to an Orange County Sheriff's Office report obtained by the Miami Herald, Caruso is accused of molesting the child on multiple occasions last year, including during a family gathering and aboard a cruise ship. Anonymous sources with knowledge of the FDLE investigation told the Herald the victim was a boy younger than 5. The child later began acting out sexually at home, prompting his parents to alert law enforcement.

The arrest is not the first time Caruso has faced child sex abuse allegations. In a January 2013 divorce filing, Caruso himself revealed that his first wife, Beverly Caruso, had previously accused him of sexually assaulting a child — an allegation he dismissed as a "false sexual abuse case" that he claimed she had orchestrated. A related December 2012 investigation by Delray Beach police and the Department of Children and Families deemed the allegation unfounded after the child and other witnesses denied any abuse. Records show Caruso has also been the subject of other, undisclosed reports to DCF.

Caruso was elected to the Florida House in 2018, the same year DeSantis became governor, and built a close relationship with him, notably backing DeSantis on immigration legislation opposed by other House Republicans. DeSantis called him a "legend" and appointed him clerk of courts in August 2025 as he faced term limits. The position pays roughly $219,000 annually and oversees an $80.1 million budget and 670 employees. The clerk is an elected county constitutional officer who maintains court records and case filings and, in the comptroller role, serves as the county's treasurer and internal auditor.

Caruso's current wife, Tracy Stein Caruso, holds two DeSantis-appointed roles and awaits Senate confirmation for a third, on the Palm Beach State College Board of Trustees. Neither she nor Beverly Caruso responded to requests for comment.

Divorce records also describe a 2009 incident in which Beverly Caruso, his wife of 31 years, called 911 alleging he was drunk, speeding on I-95 and threatening her. She additionally disputed a 2012 claim that she had physically attacked him. A judge denied both her protective injunction and his later restraining order request. Their divorce was finalized in 2014.

Caruso, an accountant by profession, coached Little League baseball for 30 years and volunteered for the Boy Scouts for eight years. He was also a member of the Delray Beach Police Advisory Board.