Police say a former mayor of Louisiana who quit just a few days ago was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of having sex with a child.
Louisiana State Police said in a news release Thursday that Misty Roberts, 42, was arrested and booked into the Beauregard Parish Detention Center on charges of third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of minors.
Police said that on Friday, the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office asked the state police’s Special Victims Unit to look into a report against Roberts for having sex with a child.
Two teens were interviewed by police, and one of them was the alleged victim. Both of them “confirmed Roberts had sexual intercourse with one juvenile victim while employed as Mayor,” the police said.
WAFB-TV reported that Roberts’ lawyer, Robert Johnson, said in a statement that his client is innocent.
“My client learned late last night of a warrant, despite not being contacted to be interviewed before investigators obtaining the warrant,” said Johnson. “My client insists she is innocent, and she is innocent right now.” “She has not been charged with or found guilty of any crime.”
Roberts said on Friday that she would have to leave the office for two weeks, but the next day, she quit, according to WAFB-TV.
“For nearly 15 years, my love and passion for DeRidder has been my foundation while serving as Mayor,” Roberts said. “This job has helped me make a lot of great connections with people.” I feel honored to have seen how hard a community worked together to get through some of the worst times ever. But I need to change my goals and where I focus.”
Police say the former mayor turned herself into investigators on Thursday without any problems.
Jail records from the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office show that Roberts was taken at 10:13 a.m. and released at 11:30 a.m. on a $75,000 bond.
The website for the city says that Roberts finished from DeRidder High School in 2000 and from McNeese State University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in mass communications with a focus on public relations. She was in charge of community work for nine years before becoming mayor.
DeRidder is about 50 miles north of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and close to the border with Texas. It has about 10,000 people living there.
