DERIDDER, La. — A woman who suddenly resigned from her mayoral seat in a small southwestern Louisiana town a week ago is now charged with raping a minor.
Louisiana State Police arrested Misty Clanton Roberts, 42, on Thursday on charges of third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She was released from the Beauregard Parish jail after posting $75,000 bail, news outlets reported.
It was not immediately known whether a summons was planned.
Sgt. Ross Brennan, a state police spokesman, said the alleged juvenile victim and another juvenile told the state police Special Victims Unit that Roberts had sex with the juvenile when Roberts was mayor of DeRidder, a city of about 10,000 people about 50 miles (80.47 kilometers) north of Lake Charles. Brennan did not provide details about the ages, genders or hometowns of the alleged victims.
Roberts was arrested less than a week after her sudden resignation. She submitted a letter of resignation to the City Council on July 27, after previously writing to Clerk Glenna Luther that she was taking a two-week unscheduled leave of absence and had appointed Fire Chief Ken Harlow as acting mayor in her absence.
Adam Johnson, Roberts’ attorney, in a statement to KPLC-TVsaid his client is innocent.
“She has not been charged with a crime and/or convicted of a crime,” Johnson said. “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, an independent, became the first woman to serve as mayor of DeRidder in 2018, serving her second term after being re-elected in 2022.