Just days after her sudden resignation, mayor of small Louisiana city charged with raping juvenile

Just days after declaring her sudden resignation, a Louisiana mayor has been charged with raping a juvenile.

Misty Dawn Clanton Roberts, 42 — now-former mayor of the City of DeRidder — was arrested Thursday, booked into the Beauregard Parish Detention Center at 10:13 a.m., and released 77 minutes later on a $75,000 bond, according to the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office jail roster.

'My client maintains her innocence and, as it stands, she is in fact innocent.'

Roberts was hit with charges of third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles, the Louisiana State Police said in a news release.

Roberts became the first female mayor of DeRidder — a city with a population of approximately 10,000 located about 20 miles east of the Louisiana-Texas border — in 2018. She was serving her second term after winning re-election in 2022. Newsweek reported that Roberts is an independent.

On July 26, Roberts said she was stepping away from the office for two days and had appointed DeRidder Fire Chief Ken Harlow as mayor pro tempore. The next day, Roberts resigned, according to KPLC-TV.

"For nearly 15 years, my love and passion for DeRidder has been my foundation while serving as Mayor," Roberts wrote in a letter of resignation to the city council.

"This role has rewarded me with many great relationships," Roberts continued. "I am humbled to have witnessed the hard work that took a community to come together and overcome through unprecedented times. However, I must adjust my focus and priorities."

Also on July 26, the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office requested the Louisiana State Police Special Victim’s Unit to investigate a complaint regarding allegations of sexual relations between a juvenile and Roberts.

Investigators conducted interviews with two minors regarding the child sexual abuse allegations. One of the minors interviewed was the alleged victim. Both minors told police that the alleged victim had sexual intercourse with Roberts when she was the mayor of DeRidder.

Law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Roberts from the Beauregard Parish 36th Judicial District Court.

Adam Johnson, Roberts' attorney, declared that his client is innocent.

"My client learned late last night of a warrant, despite not being contacted to be interviewed prior to investigators obtaining the warrant," Johnson said in a statement, as reported by WAFB-TV. "My client maintains her innocence and, as it stands, she is in fact innocent."

Johnson added, "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."

Roberts' information page on the City of DeRidder website has been scrubbed. An archived version of the page states that Roberts is a past board member and supporting member of the Greater Beauregard Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Hope Village board of directors, an Agape Community Clinic trustee, a Beauregard Prevention Coalition board member, a board member of the DeRidder Rotary Club, and a member of the Fort Polk Progress board of directors.

The Lagniappe local news outlet said in a May article that "it’s been a rough few years for her. She’s had to navigate two hurricanes, a freeze, fires, a divorce, and loss." The DeRidder archived page states that Roberts got married in 2008.

Roberts said of her divorce, "Contrary to what some were saying, there was nothing salacious that led to it. It was a personal decision and going through that publicly has changed me. I’m far from a feminist, but through this experience, I’ve learned there are a group of people who expect women to be perfect — to look and act a certain way."

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