Prosecutors have asked an Orlando judge to reverse his ruling and order Mike Caruso back into custody as he faces charges of sexually abusing a young family member.
In a motion filed Tuesday, prosecutors said Circuit Judge James Craner erred on several fronts when he rejected the state’s initial bid to keep Caruso in jail. Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Rita Peters said Craner placed too much weight on perceived weaknesses in the state's investigation and not enough on the child's repeated allegations that Caruso molested him.
Peters urged Craner to reconsider, maintaining that the holes he “saw fit to poke” in the state’s body of evidence did little to undercut the allegations that led to Caruso’s arrest. Reached Wednesday, Caruso's defense attorney
Jason Weiss said he remains confident in both Craner's ruling and Caruso's innocence.
"This motion does not present new evidence," Weiss said. "It asks the same judge — who heard the testimony, evaluated the witnesses and evidence, and found that the State had failed to establish a substantial probability that Mike committed the charged dangerous crimes — to reconsider that decision."
Prosecutors argued during Caruso's Aug. 28 detention hearing that the suspended Palm Beach County clerk was too dangerous to be freed, pointing to testimony that he had a history of violence and owned at least two assault rifles. Caruso's attorneys said the firearms were gone, given up and removed from Caruso's home in the wake of his arrest.
The defense attorneys also challenged the reliability of the young boy's allegations, questioned gaps in the investigation and offered innocent explanations for evidence prosecutors said tied Caruso to the crimes. After nearly three hours of testimony and debate, Craner set Caruso's bail at $160,000.
"Facts may develop over time," the judge said, "but at this time, I cannot say that there's a substantial probability that the defendant committed the offense or subject matter of this pretrial detention motion."
Caruso, who remains on the November ballot for Palm Beach County Clerk, told reporters afterwards that he was "happy to be released."
Prosecutor pushes back on doubts judge raised
Prosecutors argued Tuesday that Craner applied too high a standard when evaluating whether there was a "substantial probability" Caruso committed kidnapping and lewd or lascivious molestation, the two charges that qualify as dangerous crimes under Florida's pretrial detention law.
Much of Peters' 13-page motion focused on the legal definition of "substantial probability." The prosecutor cited dictionary definitions, prior court decisions and legislative history to argue that the term requires a level of proof significantly lower than what Craner appeared to expect.
Peters also argued that Craner improperly discounted the child's allegations, gave too much weight to missing evidence that investigators say no longer existed and overlooked testimony that corroborated the boy's account. This included statements from relatives who described similar sexual misconduct by Caruso years earlier.
Peters asked Craner to reverse his decision to release Caruso and instead hold him without bond. The judge did not immediately rule.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. Reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Prosecutors want Caruso jailed, ask judge to reconsider ruling
