The former Louisiana mayor Misty Roberts has completed the 90-day jail sentence that she received for raping a 16-year-old boy while still in elected office and been released from custody, according to state corrections records. The 44-year-old finished her jail term on what was the Labor Day holiday in the US, one week after the judge who presided over her case rejected a request from prosecutors to force her to serve a harsher sentence. Judge Kent Savoie nonetheless acknowledged in court he was mistaken to have based Roberts’ sentence off of a list of more than 30 cases that were resolved through plea deals, unlike her prosecution, which culminated in a jury trial and guilty verdict, the Louisiana news station KPLC reported.
Roberts was facing up to 17 years in prison after jurors in early March convicted her of carnal knowledge of a juvenile – colloquially known as statutory rape – and indecent behavior with a minor. Prosecutors established that she sexually assaulted the underage victim while they drank alcohol at a pool partyat her home in July 2024. Roberts was mayor of the city of DeRidder at the time of the crime, having held the post since 2018.
She resigned days before authorities arrested her in early August 2024. The victim, meanwhile, was a local high school student who was friends with Roberts’ son, a key witness in the case. After her conviction, beside her three-month jail sentence, Roberts was required to register as a sex offender, pay $5,000 in fines, submit to regular drug screenings and undergo psychotropic as well as psychological therapy after her release.
She would have to serve two suspended five-year prison sentences concurrently if she violates conditions of her release, too. Roberts addressed Savoie at her sentencing on 9 June by saying, “I blame myself then, I blame myself today and I will blame myself for the rest of my life,” according to KPLC.
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