Former DeRidder Mayor Misty Roberts has been released from custody after serving a 90-day jail sentence for raping a 16-year-old boy while she was in office. The 44-year-old completed her sentence on Monday, a week after the judge who presided over her case rejected prosecutors’ request to force her to serve a harsher punishment.
Roberts was convicted in March of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a minor. Prosecutors said she sexually assaulted the teenager during a pool party at her home in July 2024, after they had been drinking alcohol. She resigned as mayor of DeRidder shortly before her arrest in August 2024.
Despite facing up to 17 years in prison, Judge Kent Savoie sentenced Roberts to 90 days in jail, a $5,000 fine, and two five-year suspended sentences. He later admitted he made a mistake in basing the sentence on cases resolved through plea deals, unlike Roberts’ conviction, which came from a jury trial. He stated, “I asked someone to get me a list of cases similar… I made an assumption, and that assumption was wrong.”
The sentence sparked outrage in the community, with many calling it a gross miscarriage of justice. “When it comes to children, we should use the fullest extent of the law,” one resident said. In addition to the jail time, Roberts must register as a sex offender for life, submit to regular drug screenings, and undergo psychological therapy. During her sentencing, Roberts apologized to the victim’s family, saying she blamed herself and would “for the rest of my life.”
