Louisiana mayor who recently resigned now faces child sex crime charges

After resigning as mayor of a southwest Louisiana town, a 42-year-old woman is now facing charges of rape and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

Misty Clanton Roberts, the former mayor of DeRidder, Louisiana, turned herself in on Thursday and was booked and charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, according to the Louisiana State Police.

Last week, on July 26, the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office had requested the department’s special victims unit investigate a complaint against Roberts for allegations of sexual relations with a juvenile, police said.

Police said investigators interviewed two juveniles, one who said they were the victim, who told the investigators Roberts had sexual intercourse with the juvenile victim while employed as mayor.

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Investigators got an arrest warrant for Roberts from the Beauregard Parish 36th Judicial District Court and subsequently Roberts surrendered to police. She was released on a $75,000 bond, reported KPLC, a Lake Charles, Louisiana NBC affiliate.

The arrest came less than a week after Roberts resigned as mayor of DeRidder, a southwest Louisiana town of nearly 10,000 residents. On July 25, Roberts told city officials she would be out of the office for two weeks and appointed Fire Chief Ken Harlow as acting mayor while she was gone, the American Press, a Lake Charles, Louisiana news outlet, reported. She resigned two days later on July 27.

Roberts’ attorney Adam Johnson said his client is innocent in a statement to KPLC. “She has not been charged with a crime and/or convicted of any crime,” he said in the statement. “And we trust the public will respect her constitutional presumption of innocence which is fundamental to our system of justice. 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.”

Elected in 2018, Roberts, an independent, became the first woman to become DeRidder’s mayor, The Associated Press reported. She won reelection in 2022.

A graduate of DeRidder High School in 2000, Roberts earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communications from McNeese State University in 2004, CBS News reported. Before becoming mayor, she was the city’s director of community service for nine years.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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