Ron DeSantis built Florida's death penalty law to execute child predators.
His own appointee just got arrested for allegedly molesting a young child – and DeSantis used that law to send him a message reporters won't forget.
Find out what DeSantis said to the man he trusted most.
The Man DeSantis Trusted With Palm Beach County
Mike Caruso spent seven years as one of DeSantis' most reliable votes in the Florida House.
His loyalty wasn't theoretical.
In 2025, Caruso cast the lone vote against an immigration package DeSantis opposed – and paid for it with his committee chairmanship and his Capitol office.
DeSantis rewarded that loyalty in August 2025 by appointing Caruso as Palm Beach County Clerk of Court and Comptroller.
The appointment came exactly one year ago – to the day – before Caruso's arrest.
According to court documents, the alleged abuse started in November 2024 – three months after DeSantis handed Caruso that office.
The alleged victim was a boy under five years old, a family member with whom Caruso had regular and unsupervised access.
Court documents detail Caruso taking the child fishing alone, allegedly exposing himself and touching the boy inappropriately.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2089816512731234387?s=20
Then came August 2025 – a seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise.
Caruso separated the child from the rest of the family, telling relatives he was taking him to get ice cream.
The ship was in international waters.
What allegedly happened on that cruise is what cracked the case wide open.
How a Father Brought Down His Own Father-in-Law
The boy's father didn't go to the police first.
He noticed something wrong in October 2025 – his young son began acting in a sexualized way toward his baby brother.
When the father asked questions, the boy told him what Caruso had allegedly been doing for nearly a year.
The father confronted Caruso directly.
Caruso's response, captured in court documents: "If you tell anyone I will get arrested. I will just go away. You tell anyone I'm going to jail."
The father didn't stop there.
He recorded a second conversation.
In a February 2026 interview with law enforcement, Caruso told investigators the allegations were "impossible" – he's attracted to women, he said, so he couldn't be a sex offender.
Florida law enforcement disagreed.
The FDLE and the state's Office of Statewide Prosecution quietly assembled a case for months before making their move.
On Tuesday morning, they did.
The Vote That May Now Cost Him His Life
In 2023, the Florida Legislature passed a bill making child sexual battery punishable by death.
Mike Caruso voted yes.
Ron DeSantis signed it.
At Tuesday's press conference, DeSantis pointed straight at that law and aimed it at the man who helped him pass it.
"We're one of the first states to reintroduce the death penalty for pedophiles," DeSantis told reporters. "If he is convicted, he is going to be in for a world of hurt."
A capital sexual battery charge – the specific count that triggers death penalty eligibility – is not among the five felonies announced Tuesday.
But Attorney General James Uthmeier made clear the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible.
"Being in a position of public trust provides no shield from accountability," Uthmeier said.
DeSantis signed Caruso's suspension the same morning of the arrest.
https://twitter.com/ShadowofEzra/status/2089767589018821098?s=20
Shannon Ramsey-Chessman, the chief deputy clerk, was sworn in as acting clerk by that afternoon.
This Is What Accountability Actually Looks Like
DeSantis gave Caruso the county clerk appointment as a reward for years of loyalty – and Caruso allegedly used that position, that trust, and that family access to prey on a child under the age of five.
DeSantis didn't hesitate for a single news cycle.
He yanked Caruso from office before lunch, pointed at the death penalty law he signed, and made clear it applies to everyone equally – including the men who helped him build it.
That's not crisis management – that's a governor who means what he signs.
Democrats spent years screaming that conservative tough-on-crime laws were political theater.
They said the death penalty for child predators was a stunt.
Mike Caruso voted for that law – and is now about to find out whether they were right.
Sources:
- Jesse Scheckner, "Mike Caruso arrested on child sexual abuse charges," Florida Politics, August 18, 2026.
- Jesse Scheckner, "Gov. DeSantis says former ally Mike Caruso 'in for a world of hurt' if convicted," Florida Politics, August 18, 2026.
- "Palm Beach County Clerk of Court Michael Caruso arrested on child sex abuse charges," WPTV, August 18, 2026.
- "Palm Beach County clerk arrested on 5 felonies involving child, suspended by DeSantis," CBS12, August 18, 2026.
- Florida Senate Bill Analysis, CS/CS/HB 1297, Florida Senate, May 2023.
