Former Louisiana Mayor Found Guilty of Raping Underage Boy at Pool Party

A former Louisiana mayor has been convicted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy at a pool party in her home while still holding office.

Misty Roberts, 43, faces up to 10 years in prison on a charge of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and up to seven years for indecent behavior with a minor after a Beauregard Parish jury in DeRidder found her guilty on Tuesday following less than an hour of deliberations.

The seven-day trial heard testimony that Roberts, deep into her second term as DeRidder’s mayor, had heavily consumed alcohol before assaulting the underage boy during the July 2024 gathering at her residence.

Disturbing rumors of Roberts having illicit relationships with teenage boys and stints in rehab had already dogged the former mayor before she landed in court for bedding her son’s 16-year-old friend, according to court records.

The small-town gossip was apparently damaging enough that Roberts’ lawyers fought to ban it from her trial on sex crime charges, in which she was swiftly found guilty Tuesday of having sex with her son’s best friend.

New York Post report: The motion sought to block “any testimony concerning rumors or suggestions of inappropriate behavior between Ms. Roberts and any members, players, or persons otherwise associated” with the local Beauregard High School baseball team from being admissible at the trial.

It wasn’t immediately clear if or how the judge had decided on the defense’s requests in that motion, which also sought to ban any of the accused predator’s medical records — including “any testimony concerning Ms. Roberts going to rehabilitation or seeking rehabilitation before or after the time of the allegations.” 

The 43-year-old mother of two was found guilty Tuesday on charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile about two years after she was caught raping the teen boy at a booze-fueled pool party for her own son’s birthday.

The then-mayor — clad for the occasion in an orange bikini — flirted openly with the teen and posed for creepy photos with him during the party, before luring him to the home’s “bonus room,” stripping and having sex with the boy, according to court docs and witness testimony. 

Court records say Roberts’ own son and nephew allegedly took footage of the lewd scene — evidence that her lawyers also demanded be kept out of the courtroom, seemingly out of fear that it might stir up more concerns about the ex-leader’s behaviors. 

“Any testimony concerning any claim or suggestion that any person(s) ‘finally’ had proof of Ms. Roberts’ allegedly inappropriate behavior after obtaining video of the incident, thus suggesting the occurrence of prior inappropriate conduct,” should be inadmissible, the motion states. 

Among the other topics the defense sought to keep out of trial included the accused predator’s former marriage to Duncan Clanton — to whom she reportedly sent frantic and potentially incriminating textsfollowing the pool party, including one that read, “I f—ked up” — as well as any details surrounding the couple’s divorce.