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Michael Caruso, the former Palm Beach County clerk of court, appears at a bond hearing on Friday in his child sexual abuse case at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
A judge on Friday set a total bond of $160,000 for suspended Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Michael Caruso, denying prosecutors’ request to hold him without bond as he faces five felony child sexual abuse-related charges.
Caruso, 67, appeared for a pretrial detention hearing on Friday in Orlando before Judge A. James Craner. Court records show bond was set at $50,000 each on the first three counts and $5,000 each on the remaining two counts. Caruso faces charges of kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child and child abuse causing mental injury.
The judge ordered Caruso to have no direct or indirect contact with alleged victims or witnesses, surrender his passport, refrain from returning to Orange County except for future court hearings and not own or possess firearms.
FDLE Special Agent Reuben Roach testified for prosecutors during Friday’s hearing. Caruso’s wife, Tracy Caruso, testified for the defense. Caruso was also sworn in during the hearing, records show.
Caruso was arrested on Aug. 18, and an arrest affidavit alleges he sexually abused a child younger than 12 on three separate occasion. Caruso has denied the allegations.
Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Caruso from office after his arrest.
Caruso was appointed clerk and comptroller by DeSantis in August 2025, and his name will remain on the November ballot as the Republican candiate for the position since he was unopposed in the primary and the primary results have been certified. Caruso could still resign as a candidate and be replaced by the party if he wants to, but his name would still appear on the ballot. If he resigns and his name is on the ballot, notices would inform voters that casting a vote for him would count as a vote for the replacement candidate.
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Denaria Graham, 24, was arrested Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, on charges of aggravated child abuse, child neglect and failure to report child abuse. (Broward Sheriff’s Office/Courtesy)
A fifth person accused in the years-long abuse of a girl in Margate turned herself into jail Wednesday to face charges stemming from the investigation that began two years ago, police said.
The abuse came to light in 2023 after the girl messaged her online teacher asking for help because one of her legal guardians punched her in the head, according to a probable cause affidavit. The investigation that ensued found the girl had endured horrific “forms of punishment” for years, leading to the arrest of her two legal guardians, who are her family members, and three other women who allegedly participated in or knew of the abuse of that began when the girl was age 11 in 2019.
Those facing charges are: Latricia Crawley, 49; Benjamin Lockett, 46; Shankyria Clayton, 23; Treaunshae Gibbons, 32; and, as of this week, Denaria Graham, 24.
An amended charging document filed by the State Attorney’s Office earlier this year said the girl had been tortured, punished, caged and battered between 2019 and October 2023. She had been locked inside of closets and tied to furniture; hit with belts, extension cords and metal pipes; and bound with zip ties or rope on her hands and feet.
When police were called to the Margate home in October 2023, they found the girl had “evidence of significant long-term trauma” on her body, according to the probable cause affidavit for Crawley’s arrest. The girl told officers that, over the 10 years she lived with Crawley and Lockett, she would be locked inside of a closet, where she slept and was given a bucket to use as a toilet.
Crawley also allegedly tied the girl to a pole and hit her toes with a hammer, threw boiling water on her, held her head under water, forced her to stand for extended periods of time by tying her hair to a clothing rack, pierced her back with a staple gun, among other forms of punishment, according to the state’s charging document.
Crawley has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated child abuse and child neglect.
Lockett, who is Crawley’s husband, has been accused of kicking the girl in her chin, leaving a permanent scar; hitting and punching her; and placing his hands around her neck, according to court records. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated child abuse, child abuse and child neglect.
Treaunshae Gibbons, top left; Shankyria Clayton, top right; Bejamin Lockett, bottom left; and Latricia Crawley, bottom right. They are each facing charges related to the alleged abuse or failing to report the alleged abuse of a 15-year-old Margate girl. (Courtesy/Broward Sheriff's Office)
Clayton allegedly participated in locking the girl inside of closets in the home without access to food and water and in neglecting the girl, the charging document showed. While living in the same house as the girl, Clayton never reported the abuse to the Department of Children and Families, which is required by state law.
Clayton has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated child abuse, child neglect and failure to report child abuse.
Gibbons, whose mother is Crawley, also lived at the home between 2015 and 2019 while the girl was being abused, a probable cause affidavit for her arrest said. She worked for Kids in Distress beginning in November 2020 — a nonprofit based in Wilton Manors that aims to prevent child abuse and provides services for victims of abuse and families.
She noted in her job application for the nonprofit that she had over a year of experience as a case manager for Children’s Home Society and ChildNet, the lead child welfare agency in Broward and Palm Beach County, according to the affidavit. Gibbons was fired from the organization for violating policy related to reporting abuse, the South Florida Sun Sentinel previously reported.
She has pleaded not guilty to one count of failure to report child abuse.
Graham is accused of participating in locking the girl in the closet and in neglecting her, the charging document showed. She also lived in the home and knew or suspected the girl was being abused but failed to report it.
She was held in the North Broward Bureau as of Friday on charges of aggravated child abuse, child neglect and failure to report child abuse. A Margate Police spokesperson said in an email that she turned herself in to the jail on Wednesday.
Graham’s arraignment is scheduled for Monday. She has not yet entered a plea to the charges.
All of the defendants will be tried together, court records show.
The alleged victim, then age 17, filed a lawsuit last year against Childnet, alleging the agency put her in an abusive home without properly vetting the guardians.
The lawsuit, in part, identifies two members of Crawley’s family as people who allegedly sexually abused her, though neither has been criminally charged, the Sun Sentinel previously reported. One is a man who is a registered sex offender and who lived in the home with the girl.
Childnet in its response to the lawsuit denied all allegations and said, in part, that the agency could not be held liable for the actions of her legal guardians.
Co-defendant in the lawsuit are the Partnership for Community Health, The Children’s Place at Home Safe, Inc. and the Broward Sheriff’s Office, court records show.
Attorneys representing the Sheriff’s Office in its response to the lawsuit denied all allegations of negligence against the agency and said, in part, that the agency enjoys sovereign immunity and is immune from the lawsuit.
The Children’s Place at Home Safe, Inc. denied all allegations and argued as a defense, in part, that the organization is not liable for any alleged damages that resulted from other parties and that any damages arose from the girl’s “own negligence and/or actions,” according to their response to the lawsuit.
Attorneys for Partnership for Community Health in their response denied all allegations and, in part, argued that the girl was responsible for any injuries and damages through her own “negligence and carelessness.” The girl had run away from a group home run by the company for children in the foster system and “willing exposed herself to potential and actual harm,” the response said.
Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen was a rising star in the Democratic Party who was considering a run for Congress, one lawmaker said one lawmaker said.
A Florida vice mayor seen as a rising political star was found dead at her home Wednesday and her husband was arrested on suspicion of premeditated murder, authorities said.
Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen's body was found by police who were conducting a wellness check, the city said in a statement. The Coral Springs Police Department, in Broward County, has opened an investigation.
Metayer Bowen's husband, Stephen Bowen, was arrested following a preliminary investigation, the city said, adding that “it was determined the incident was domestic in nature” and that there were no additional suspects at this time.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office website listed Bowen, 40, as in custody and booked on charges of premeditated murder and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Bowen is accused of fatally shooting Metayer Bowen and was arrested after concerned officials raised alarm that Metayer Bowen missed scheduled meetings Wednesday and was not responding to messages, according to an arrest affidavit police released Thursday.
Before she became vice mayor, Metayer Bowen was the first Black and Haitian American female member of the Coral Springs City Commission. She was first elected in 2020 and then re-elected in 2024, according to the city website. Last year, her fellow commissioners appointed her to serve a second term as vice mayor, according to the city website.
Coral Springs, Fla., Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer.Coral Springs City Commission
Metayer Bowen was also an environmental scientist, and, before she joined the City Commission, she “led environmental justice efforts across the state of Florida, focusing on enhancing community resilience,” according to the city website.
The city said that during her time as a member of the Broward County Soil and Water Conservation District, her work was “instrumental in addressing water crises and responding to major natural disasters, including Hurricanes Irma, Michael, and Dorian.”
Metayer Bowen’s family said in a statement that she was “a cherished member of our family, but also a dedicated public servant who committed her life to improving the lives of others.”
“Throughout her years in public office, she led with integrity, compassion, and an unwavering sense of purpose. She believed in bringing people together, listening to those she served, and working tirelessly to create positive change in her community,” the Metayer family wrote. “To us, she was a source of strength, wisdom, and love—someone who always put others before herself.”
“Her legacy will live on not only in the policies she helped shape, but in the countless lives she touched,” the family said.
A family member called police about Bowen
Officials first grew concerned about Metayer Bowen after she was missing from meetings Wednesday morning.
An official, whose name is redacted, got a text from Metayer Bowen at 8 a.m. Wednesday titled “Discussion Items” and then never heard from her afterward.
That person tried to get through to Metayer Bowen through her husband, who responded that she was "not picking up" and later added: "Where is she? Her car is not at home," the affidavit said.
When police arrived at the couple’s home, they did not see any cars in the driveway and were not able to communicate with anyone in the home, according to the affidavit. Police tried to contact Bowen several times but received no response, the affidavit said.
A detective searched the outside of the property and found “outward, explosive-like damage” on the second floor that appeared “consistent with force originating within the structure,” the affidavit said.
At around 1:39 p.m., police spotted Bowen’s car in a parking lot with an occupant who “matched Stephen Bowen’s description,” the affidavit said. The man was seen handing off a bag to another man that “appeared consistent with a firearm carrying case,” the document said.
Minutes later, a person whose name was redacted in the affidavit called police and said their nephew, Bowen, had come to their house that morning and said that “he did something to” Metayer Bowen and that she “was not alive,” the document said.
Police sent a SWAT team into the home and found Metayer Bowen’s body in her second-floor bedroom, the affidavit said. Bowen was taken into custody around 2:35 p.m.
While they were executing a search warrant, police found three spent shotgun shells wrapped in the blankets with Metayer Bowen’s body, the affidavit said.
A preliminary examination showed an apparent shotgun wound to Metayer Bowen’s left shoulder, it said.
According to the affidavit, police also spoke to a person, whose name was redacted, who said Bowen told him he shot Metayer Bowen “three times with a shotgun the previous night and then slept downstairs.”
Asked why, Bowen said he “couldn’t take it anymore,” the affidavit alleged.
'She had such a future'
Lawmakers around the state expressed condolences and shock at the death of the “beloved” vice mayor while praising her leadership.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement Wednesday that “it is with a broken heart and profound grief that the Florida Democratic Party mourns the sudden and horrific death of our beloved Vice Chair, Nancy Metayer Bowen.”
“Just days ago, I spoke with Nancy. Just two weeks ago, I held her in a hug at our Party’s Leadership Summit, never imagining it would be one of our last moments together,” she said.
“Nancy was not simply our Vice Chair of Haitian Outreach. She was a scientist. An environmentalist. A brilliant barrier-breaker who made history as the first Black and Haitian-American woman elected to the Coral Springs City Commission,” Fried said. “A Vice Mayor who showed up every single day for the people she served. She loved her community deeply and believed, with every fiber of her being, that a better and more equitable future was possible for all of us.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis said on social media that he and his wife were “shocked and saddened by this terrible news. We send our condolences to Nancy’s friends and family.”
“I was just with her on Saturday. She just buried her brother. She was about to announce she was running for Congress,” he wrote. “Nancy was one of the nicest people I worked with. Always fighting for her community, always pushing to help. She had such a future. This is terrible.”
North Miami Mayor Alix Desulme described Metayer Bowen as a “pillar of her community, a dedicated advocate for her neighbors, and a tireless voice for those who too often go unheard.”
“I can tell you firsthand what those who worked with her already know: she brought energy and moral clarity to every room she entered,” he said on social media. “This is a moment of deep pain and disbelief for all of us who had the privilege of working alongside such a dedicated and passionate leader.”
“A true believer and individual dedicated to service at her core. Her loss is profound,” he said on social media. “May she rest in peace.”
Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen said in a statement that Metayer Bowen “served her community with dedication and heart, and the impact of her dedicated public service will be felt across Broward County.”
“Our thoughts are with her family, colleagues, and the Coral Springs community during this difficult time,” he said.
Flowers are placed in front of Coral Springs City Hall in honor of Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen on Thursday, April 2, 2026. Metayer Bowen was found dead at her home Wednesday morning, and her husband, Stephen Bowen, has been charged with premeditated murder. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
