On Tuesday (March 3), Misty Roberts, a former mayor of a Louisiana town, was found guilty of two felony charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile. Roberts, 43, was the mayor of DeRidder, a city in western Louisiana with a population of 10,000, when the incident took place in 2024.
Making the situation even more scandalous was that the victim, who was 16 at the time, was a friend of her son. The incident occurred at a pool party at the Roberts’ home in July 2024, in which Roberts’ son was observed yelling at how his mother “effed” his best friend according to Jill Weaver, who stated that she was Roberts’ “longtime best friend” during her testimony in Beauregard Parish.
Misty Roberts’ son also testified, saying that he could not definitively confirm that he saw the behavior between his friend and mother. Her daugher also testified, saying that she saw her mother and the teen “on top of each other” through a crack in a window. Weaver’s testimony also included her admission that she advised her son – Roberts’ nephew – to “lie until you die” if asked about the incident by authorities.
The former mayor’s ex-husband, Duncan Clanton, was also called to the stand to testify. He told the jury that Roberts admitted to having sex with the teen the day after the party. Clanton also said that the victim’s mother reached out to Roberts about the possibility of her getting pregnant, but that Roberts told her she was on birth control.
Jurors would hear evidence that was presented, corroborating that fact, according to reporting by People. Allegedly, a DoorDash driver delivered Plan B emergency contraception to the Roberts home after the party took place.
Misty Roberts resigned from office in August 2024, days before she was arrested. She had been elected as an independent candidate to become DeRidder’s first woman mayor in 2018. The city would then elect its first Black mayor, Michael D. Harris, shortly after her stepping down.
The guilty verdict comes after an initial set of charges, which included third-degree rape, were thrown out, resulting in a mistrial. She is set to be sentenced April 17 and faces up to 17 years in prison.
