AWFUL

Louisiana City’s First Female Mayor Is Accused of Raping a Minor

Misty Roberts has denied the allegations through her lawyer.

A Louisiana mayor has been accused of raping a minor while she was in office, police said Thursday, days after she abruptly resigned. Misty Roberts, 42, was charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles. Investigators said two children—a victim and a supposed witness—told detectives that Roberts had sex with one of them during her second term as mayor of DeRidder, a city of 10,000. A probe into Roberts was opened on July 26 after the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office requested that state police look into a complaint made against her. A profile of Roberts in May said she was the city’s first female mayor, adding that she had been navigating a divorce. It added that she has a son who was 14 at the time of the article’s publishing. An attorney for Roberts said his client was innocent and criticized police for not interviewing her before the arrest warrant was issued. “My client maintains her innocence and, as it stands, she is in fact innocent,” said Adam Johnson, reported KPLC.