Judge finds flaws in Caruso investigation, grants suspended clerk bail

Key Points:

• Circuit Judge James Craner denied prosecutors' request to keep suspended Palm Beach County Clerk Mike Caruso in jail, citing insufficient evidence despite largely finding the investigating agent credible.
• Caruso, 67, faces accusations of grooming and molesting a young relative between 2024 and 2025, but the judge set bail at $160,000, ordered surrender of his passport, and restricted his travel to Orange County only for court appearances.
• Defense attorney Jason Weiss challenged the reliability of the allegations, highlighting repeated questioning of the child and delays in reporting, while prosecutors presented claims of decades-long abuse and additional family testimonies.
• Prosecutors argued Caruso poses a danger to the community due to his alleged history of abuse within the family, citing testimony from adult children describing inappropriate conduct during childhood.
• Caruso has denied the accusations, attributing them to false claims by his first wife, and previous investigations by authorities in 2012 found similar allegations unfounded after a brief inquiry.