Caruso is out on bail after a judge in Orange County — where some of the incidents allegedly took place and where Caruso is being tried — ruled in August that the state has not shown it can prove its case.

State prosecutors filed an appeal on Sept. 28 asking an appellate court to overturn the Orange County circuit judge’s motion and put Caruso back in jail while he awaits trial, according to a copy of the record obtained by the Miami Herald. Caruso spent 10 days in jail in August but now is back in Palm Beach County, where he is on the November ballot as the Republican candidate for the $219,778 clerk’s job.

Caruso has been charged with kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child, and child abuse inflicting mental injury. Gov. Ron DeSantis had appointed Caruso to the office of Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller in 2025 but suspended him immediately after his arrest exactly one year later, on Aug. 18 this year.