Former DeRidder mayor released after serving 90-day term for statutory rape
Ex-mayor Misty Roberts finished a 90-day jail term for raping a 16-year-old at a pool party and was released this week.
Former DeRidder mayor Misty Roberts completed a 90-day prison sentence for raping a 16-year-old boy at a pool party held at her home in July 2024 and was released on Monday. The sentencing judge, Kent Savoie, relied on more than 30 prior cases that ended in plea deals, a method he later acknowledged was erroneous, though he did not revise the sentence. Had he imposed the maximum, Roberts could have faced up to 17 years in prison.
Beyond incarceration, the court ordered her to pay $5,000 in fines, submit to regular drug testing, register as a sex offender and receive psychological treatment. Local residents criticized the sentence as an insult to the victim, while the district attorney’s office said the punishment did not reflect the crime’s severity. Roberts apologized in court, describing herself as an embarrassment to the city.
