{"id":384079,"date":"2026-08-29T00:50:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384079\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T00:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:50:17","slug":"mike-caruso-to-be-freed-from-orange-jail-friday-judge-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384079\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Caruso to be freed from Orange jail Friday, judge rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Orange County circuit judge dealt a blow to prosecutors Friday in the child sexual abuse case against former state Rep. Mike Caruso, ordering his release from jail and noting holes in law enforcement\u2019s investigation of him.<\/p>\n

Statewide prosecutors sought to keep Caruso in jail on charges that he kidnapped and molested a 4-year-old child on two separate incidents, including on a cruise ship, between 2024 and 2025. They noted the severity of the accusations against Caruso and allegations of physical and sexual abuse against other children previously.<\/p>\n

Authorities considered the latter claims against Caruso unfounded at the time, but Friday prosecutors said the details reflect a pattern of behavior warranting his incarceration ahead of his trial.<\/p>\n

Judge A. James Craner, however, disagreed and, after more than two hours of arguments, set a $160,000 bond. Caruso was expected to be released from the Orange County Jail later Friday and is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 8.<\/p>\n

Craner cited flaws in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement\u2019s investigation into the matter led by Special Agent Reuben Roach, who testified as a state witness. Among them were the number of times the child was interviewed about what took place \u2014 11 when the recommended number is three, Roach said \u2014 and the lack of evidence from the cruise ship establishing what happened there.<\/p>\n

He also expressed concern that the child may have been coached by his parents, who waited over a month to report the alleged abuse after they said the child came forward late last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cFacts may develop over time, but at this time, I cannot say that there\u2019s a substantial probability that the defendant committed the offenses that are subject matter of this pre-trial detention motion,\u201d Craner said.<\/p>\n

Dressed in a dark blue jail jumpsuit and shackled by his hands and around his torso, Caruso \u2014suspended from his role as Palm Beach County\u2019s clerk of court and comptroller following last week\u2019s arrest \u2014 was active throughout the proceeding, leaning forward to listen closely to Roach\u2019s testimony and muttering to his attorneys while poring over documents used by both sides.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Caruso, the former Palm Beach County clerk of court, during a bond hearing in his child sexual abuse case at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"FDLE<\/p>\n

FDLE Special Agent Reuben Roach, gives his account of the investigation into Michael Caruso, the former Palm Beach County clerk of court, during a bond hearing in Caruso\u2019s child sexual abuse case at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Criminal<\/p>\n

Criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno, who represents former Palm Beach County clerk of court, Michael Caruso, leaves a meeting between the attorneys and Judge A. James Craner during a bond hearing at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Circuit<\/p>\n

Circuit Judge A. James Craner oversees the bond hearing for Michael Caruso, the former Palm Beach County clerk of court, at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Caruso, the former Palm Beach County clerk of court, with his criminal defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, during a bond hearing at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Caruso, the former Palm Beach County clerk of court, enters the courtroom at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando for a bond hearing in his child sexual abuse case on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Caruso, the former Palm Beach County clerk of court, enters the courtroom at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando for a bond hearing in his child sexual abuse case on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Caruso, the former Palm Beach County clerk of court, speaks with his criminal defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, during a bond hearing in his child sexual abuse case at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 8<\/p>\n

Michael Caruso, the former Palm Beach County clerk of court, during a bond hearing in his child sexual abuse case at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

As a condition of his release, Caruso was ordered not to speak to the victim\u2019s family or return to Orange County unless he\u2019s required to appear in court. His attorneys Jason Weiss and Donna Rotunno, the latter famed for representing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, also volunteered to surrender his passport and the collection of guns at his home as release conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue here is that you\u2019re dealing with a very young victim who has made an allegation, and allegedly this allegation comes on the heels of parents being very involved and it seems like potentially the coaching the victim,\u201d Rotunno told reporters outside the courthouse. \u201cWe\u2019re also dealing with the fact that these allegations took place allegedly on a cruise ship, and you would be able to get a lot of evidence from the cruise ship that was never obtained by law enforcement. So there\u2019s definitely a lot of questions as to the reliability of this information.\u201d<\/p>\n

In court, Weiss and statewide prosecutors Rita Peters and Lauryn Day battled over the validity of the evidence collected as part of the investigation so far. Authorities point to two instances of alleged sexual abuse: one in the days leading up to Thanksgiving 2024, when the child was 3, and another on a cruise in the summer of 2025.<\/p>\n

The \u00a0father of the alleged victim said in October 2025 after he caught the child engaging in sexual behavior with another child. When asked where he learned that, the child claimed Caruso showered with them on the cruise and performed a sex act. It was described in graphic detail in court.<\/p>\n

The Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Office initially handled the investigation after the child\u2019s parents came forward in December. In February, they conducted a controlled phone call between the child\u2019s father and Caruso, who denied the allegations but promised never to return to Orange County if he wasn\u2019t reported to law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Caruso was arrested Aug. 18. In the prosecution\u2019s final arguments to keep Caruso behind bars, Day insisted the child was consistent in his description of the alleged abuse while pointing to Caruso\u2019s influence as a former lawmaker and officer of the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has too many relationships of trust with individuals to be able to manipulate them and coerce them to affect the judicial process of this case that conventional supervision would not be able to adequately supervise him in this situation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Weiss, however, poked holes in the investigation\u2019s findings, partly focusing on the number of occasions the child was interviewed about what took place.<\/p>\n

He also discredited the previous allegations made against Caruso.\u00a0Some children, was well as the child in this case, claimed that Caruso played a game of \u201cTickle Monster\u201d and use to touch them inappropriately. One person also claimed to have been physically beaten by Caruso as a child.<\/p>\n

Weiss noted investigations by police in Delray Beach and the Florida Department of Children and Families concluded those accusations were unfounded and that they were used as part of a past divorce proceeding involving Caruso and his ex-wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a narrative and not evidence,\u201d Weiss said of the prosecutor\u2019s closing arguments. \u201cNever is the presumption of innocence more important than when there are distasteful and salacious allegations against somebody in the public eye.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caruso\u2019s wife, Tracy Caruso, sat in the courtroom during the hearing. She also took the stand, smiling at her husband as she spoke to Caruso\u2019s ability to make bond and to stay out of trouble from their home in Lake Park. She blew a kiss to him as she returned to her seat in the gallery.<\/p>\n

Tracy Caruso rushed away from the courthouse and did not take questions from reporters.<\/p>\n

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