The first female mayor of one Louisiana town resigned her post days before being charged with sexual relations with a juvenile. 

Mayor Misty Roberts Clanton, 42, stepped down as mayor of DeRidder, Louisiana nearly a week before allegations were levied against her by one juvenile victim.

LSU’S JAVIEN TOVIANO ARRESTED ON VIDEO VOYEURISM CHARGES

On August 1, Clanton turned herself in to investigators from the Louisiana State Police Special Victim’s Unit at Beauregard Parish Detention Center.

The former mayor is charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles, according to the Louisiana State Police. The age of the juvenile victim in question has not been released.

According to an interview with Clanton in a local publication from May 2024, she intended to run for mayor of DeRidder once more in 2026. She is also a mother of two, including one 14-year-old son.

SUSPECT IN NEW ORLEANS TOUR GUIDE MURDER IN US ILLEGALLY, HAS CRIMINAL HISTORY: ICE

“On July 26, 2024, the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office requested the Louisiana State Police Special Victim’s Unit (LSP SVU) to investigate a complaint against the former Mayor of DeRidder for allegations of sexual relations with a juvenile,” wrote the Louisiana State Police in a statement. 

Louisiana State Police have arrested 42-year-old former Mayor Misty Roberts Clanton on charges related to sexual assault of a juvenile. (Louisiana State Police via Facebook)

“The investigation resulted in the arrest of 42-year-old Misty Roberts.”

“As the investigation progressed, LSP SVU conducted interviews with two juveniles, one of which was the victim. Both juveniles confirmed Roberts had sexual intercourse with one juvenile victim while employed as Mayor,” continued the statement.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Clanton has been released on $75,000 bond and the case remains under investigation.

The health care sector has contributed the most new jobs to Louisiana’s economy over the past five years, according to the latest economic intelligence dashboard from the Committee of 100 for Economic Development.

Three sectors in particular—health services and private education, professional and business services and manufacturing—led Louisiana in job creation, contributing nearly 20,000 new jobs from May 2019 to May 2024. Of those 20,000 jobs, the health care sector accounted for the vast majority with 14,700.

The professional and business services sector has added 2,800 jobs over the past five years, and the manufacturing sector has added 1,900. Manufacturing employment is currently at its highest level since early 2016.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the three sectors that lost the most jobs from May 2019 to May 2024 were leisure and hospitality, government, and transportation and utilities.

The leisure and hospitality sector lost the most jobs over the past five years, shedding 19,000. Sixty-two percent of those lost jobs, which can largely be traced back to the COVID-19 pandemic, were in the New Orleans metro. The government sector lost 10,600 jobs over the past five years, and the transportation and utilities sector lost 7,400.

Other notable findings in C100’s new dashboard:

• Six of Louisiana’s nine metros gained jobs year over year in May and the state’s total nonfarm employment rose by 0.3%. Among Southern states, Louisiana outpaced only Tennessee in job growth.
• New job postings in Louisiana dropped year over year in June, reflecting national trends of a cooling labor market.
• If Louisiana were to reach the national average for labor force participation, the state would gain 139,000 jobs.

“Taken as a whole, this [dashboard] shows Louisiana is adding jobs statewide and in most of its metropolitan areas, but doing so slower than other Southern states in the U.S. and during a period of declining number of new job postings,” a statement from C100 reads.

The Committee of 100 for Economic Development is an economic development organization with a stated goal of improving Louisiana’s competitiveness by advocating for public policy changes and bringing together the state’s leaders in academia and business.

A Louisiana mayor, who abruptly took a leave of absence before resigning last week, is accused of raping a minor during her time in office.

Former DeRidder Mayor Misty Roberts was charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles, Louisiana State Police announced on Thursday.

An investigation into the 42-year-old mayor, who was in her second term, was opened on July 26, after the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office requested the state police look into a complaint against Roberts.

“As the investigation progressed, LSP SVU conducted interviews with two juveniles, one of which was the victim. Both juveniles confirmed Roberts had sexual intercourse with one juvenile victim while employed as Mayor,” a statement read.

A warrant for Roberts’ arrest was issued on Wednesday before she surrendered herself to the police.

Roberts was booked into Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office Jail at 10:13 a.m. and released 77 minutes later on a $75,000 bond, jail records show.

Roberts’ attorney called his client innocent while calling out law enforcement for not talking with the former mayor before her arrest.

“It is my honor to represent Misty Roberts. My client learned late last night of a warrant, despite not being contacted to be interviewed prior to investigators obtaining the warrant,” Adam Johnson said, according to KPLC. “My client maintains her innocence and, as it stands, she is in fact innocent.”

“We trust the public will respect her constitutional presumption of innocence which is fundamental to our system of justice,” he added. “Misty and her family are very grateful for the support they have received from their friends and neighbors and we look forward to putting this unfortunate situation behind them.”

Her arrest comes after she announced that she would step away from her office for two weeks on July 26, the same day police launched their probe, the outlet reported.

DeRidder Fire Chief Ken Harlow was appointed as her mayor pro tem.

But a day later, the disgraced former mayor submitted a letter of resignation to the city council.

“For nearly 15 years, my love and passion for DeRidder has been my foundation while serving as Mayor,” Roberts wrote.

“This role has rewarded me with many great relationships. I am humbled to have witnessed the hard work that took a community to come together and overcome through unprecedented times. However, I must adjust my focus and priorities,” she added.

The Louisiana Secretary of State’s office must make the resignation official, before City Council President Randy Larken begins serving as the city’s mayor pro tem until a new mayor is elected on March 29, 2025.

DeRidder, a city of just under 10,000 people, is situated on the west side of the state approximately 20 miles from the Texas-Louisiana border.