A jury in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, found former DeRidder mayor Misty Roberts guilty in March 2026 of third-degree rape, indecent behavior with a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges stemmed from an alcohol-fueled pool party Roberts hosted at her home for her teenage son and his friends, during which prosecutors said she sexually assaulted a 16-year-old boy who was heavily intoxicated. The verdict came after roughly two hours of deliberation.
Roberts, 43 at the time of the alleged assault, had served as mayor of the small western Louisiana city of roughly 11,000 people. She resigned from office after being charged but had not yet stood trial when she left her post, a timeline confirmed by local station KPLC, which covered the case from the initial arrest through the verdict.
What prosecutors said happened at the pool party
According to trial testimony reported by Fox News and KPLC, Roberts hosted a group of teenagers, including her son and the 16-year-old victim, at her home for a nighttime pool party. Text messages presented to the jury showed Roberts coordinating with her son about what alcohol to buy for the gathering, a detail prosecutors used to argue she was not merely a negligent chaperone but an active supplier of liquor to minors.
The victim told jurors he became severely intoxicated during the party. He said that after the group moved inside, he ended up in Roberts’ bedroom, where she initiated sexual contact. Prosecutors argued his age and level of impairment meant he could not consent under Louisiana law, which defines third-degree rape to include sexual intercourse with a victim who is incapable of resisting due to intoxication.
How the case came to light
The assault was not uncovered by police or a neighbor’s tip. Roberts’ own son told investigators he walked past a window that night and saw his mother engaged in a sexual act with his 16-year-old friend. During the trial, testimony indicated the son later said his mother had “effed” his best friend, a statement recounted in coverage by TMZ. That account gave investigators a second witness and helped build the case that led to Roberts’ arrest.
For DeRidder, the revelation was deeply unsettling. Roberts had been the city’s elected leader, someone parents and residents trusted with public authority. Learning that she had allegedly used that position of trust to host minors, supply them with alcohol and then assault one of them left the community grappling with how long the behavior might have gone undetected had her son not looked through that window.
The evidence: texts, a DoorDash driver and a morning-after pill
Prosecutors built their case around digital evidence and an unexpected witness. In addition to the text messages about alcohol, jurors heard from a DoorDash delivery driver who testified that a customer identified as “Misty C.” placed an unusual request shortly after the alleged assault: the purchase and doorstep delivery of an emergency contraceptive pill. The driver told the court he completed the order and left the medication at Roberts’ front door, according to the New York Post. Prosecutors argued the timing of that order corroborated the victim’s account.
The defense’s arguments were not extensively detailed in published trial coverage. Roberts had pleaded not guilty, and her legal team challenged the credibility of the witnesses, but the jury was not persuaded. After hearing several days of testimony, the panel returned its guilty verdict in approximately two hours, as reported by The Guardian.
What Roberts faces at sentencing
Under Louisiana law, third-degree rape carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Indecent behavior with a juvenile can add additional prison time. As of April 2026, Roberts’ sentencing date had not been publicly announced. She remains in custody following the verdict.
The case has renewed scrutiny of how adults in positions of authority interact with minors in social settings and has prompted conversations in DeRidder about accountability for elected officials. For the victim and his family, the trial’s outcome marked the end of a legal process that began with a pool party no teenager should have had to survive.
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