‘Disappointing:’ Florida Gov. DeSantis remarks after GOP ‘endorses’ child sex abuse suspect | #childpredator | #kidsaftey | #childsaftey

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has spoken out after the Palm Beach Republican Party was accused of endorsing the suspect in a child sex abuse investigation for local office.

That suspect — Michael Caruso, 67 — was suspended from his position as the Palm Beach County clerk of court earlier this year after investigators revealed he’d been accused of sexually abusing an Orange County boy who was under 12 years old.

Despite the suspension and investigation, local records show that Caruso is still running for office as the county clerk and comptroller.

According to the Miami Herald, the Palm Beach Republican Party also endorsed Caruso for the role in a GOP voter guide posted on Monday via Instagram.

After news of the endorsement broke, DeSantis took to X, calling it “disappointing”.

“Some things are bigger than party,” he wrote.

However, Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power came out on social media to clarify that the party does not in fact support Caruso for the position.

“We pulled our support the moment he was arrested, and asked the local party to pick a replacement, which they did. Mike refused to withdraw,” Power said. “Mike Caruso has every right to defend himself-but he does not have the time or platform to run a campaign. He should have stepped aside to allow the party to move forward.”

[RELATED: Caruso adds Harvey Weinstein lawyer to defense team in child sex case]

The Palm Beach GOP later took down its voter guide, replacing it with a new version that omitted Caruso’s name.

“For the record, our guide originally listed every Republican nominee, as Florida statute requires,” the new post reads. “As soon as we were permitted to remove the nominee running for a constitutional office, we did.”

Regardless, Caruso is still expected to appear on the ballot on Nov. 3 in the local race.

THE CARUSO INVESTIGATION

According to an order issued by DeSantis back in August, 67-year-old Caruso is accused of sexually abusing a child, who is less than 12 years old and lives in Orange County with the rest of his family.

“During the period charged, Caruso enjoyed regular and unsupervised access to (the) victim by virtue of his position as a family member, including periods alone with the child in Orange County, in Palm Beach County, and aboard a family vacation in August 2025,” the order reads.

Investigators said that in October 2025, the victim’s father learned from the boy that Caruso had showered and performed apparent sexual acts with him during a family cruise in August 2025.

“During the voyage, while in international waters, Caruso separated the victim from his parents under the stated pretext of taking the child to obtain ice cream,” the investigative report states. “Victim was away from his parents in Caruso’s company for at least an hour and was not taken to get ice cream.”

[RELATED: Suspended Palm Beach clerk of court posts bond amid disturbing accusations]

The victim later identified to law enforcement another occasion around Thanksgiving 2024 where Caruso had abused him, the report says.

By December, Caruso was confronted about the allegations, though he denied sexually abusing the boy. Instead, he asked whether his former spouse had interacted with the child, characterizing her as “evil” and having potentially made up the allegations “in an effort to poison the child against him,” investigators said.

Another conversation about what happened cropped up in February 2026, this time recorded at the request of law enforcement, the report says.

“Caruso asserted that the allegations were impossible because, in substance, sexual deviation is directed toward only one sex rather than two, and because he is attracted to women, he could not be a sex offender,” the report continues. “Caruso further stated, in substance: ‘If you report this to the authorities, there won’t be any of me left, I can tell you that.’”

Furthermore, the report claims that Caruso’s daughter had made previous accusations against him of “sexually inappropriate behavior,” including sexual battery.

As a result of the allegations, Caruso was arrested and now faces the following charges:

• Kidnapping

• Lewd or lascivious molestation

• Lewd or lascivious exhibition

• Luring or enticing a child

• Child abuse (mental injury)