Former DeRidder mayor Misty Roberts has been found guilty on felony charges for having sex with a 16-year-old boy in 2024 while she was the mayor. Pamela Sleezer covered the trial for the American Press and says the victim’s mother had to remove herself from the courtroom because she was overcome with emotion when the verdict was read.
“And when she left, you could hear, loudly, Misty’s sobs; because the microphone was on in front of her at her table,” Sleezer noted.
The incident happened at a party at her house. The victim was one of her son’s friends and Sleezer says the evidence was stacked against Roberts.
“There was a photograph of her straddling this boy on the couch, the photographs taken of them by the pool, and things. And then, in all the screenshots of her text messages, where not in one single text message did she ever deny. All she did was ask everyone to lie for her,” Sleezer explained.
Roberts resigned as mayor five days before she was arrested in August of 2024. Sleezer says this case has captivated the town of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. She says there are many who thought a sex crime had occurred and she would get away it, while others supported the former mayor.
“She definitely still had people trying to defend her throughout the case. There were people trying to say, ‘You know, no, I don’t think she did this,'” Sleezer said.
Sentencing is April 17th. Roberts was convicted of carnal knowledge of juvenile, which is also known as statutory rape, and she was also convicted indecent behavior. Roberts could be sentenced to several years in jail.
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