Former DeRidder, Louisiana, Mayor Misty Roberts has been released after serving 90 days behind bars following her conviction for sex offenses involving a 16-year-old boy.
Roberts, 44, was freed Monday after completing the jail portion of a suspended 10-year sentence, according to court reporting cited by the Daily Mail.
Her release came days after a judge rejected a request from prosecutors seeking a more severe punishment.
As part of her sentence, Roberts was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $300 in prosecution costs. She is prohibited from contacting the victim or his family.
Roberts was convicted in March of indecent behavior and carnal knowledge of a minor following a week-long trial.
She is also required to register as a Tier 1 sex offender.
The relatively short jail term prompted criticism from some DeRidder residents who argued the punishment should have been significantly harsher.
“When it comes to children, we should use the fullest extent of the law,” resident Kari McGee told KALB following the sentencing. “There are no excuses when it comes to our children.”
The case stemmed from a July 20, 2024, pool party Roberts hosted while she was still serving as mayor.
Prosecutors said Roberts supplied alcohol during the gathering and behaved flirtatiously toward her son’s 16-year-old friend before leading him into a spare room.
Roberts’ teenage children ultimately became key witnesses in the case after discovering their mother with the boy.
Another child captured a cellphone photograph that prosecutors later presented to jurors during the trial.
Defense attorney Adam Johnson acknowledged that a photograph showing Roberts with the teenager looked damaging but argued that the image itself did not prove a sex crime had occurred.
Jurors disagreed, deliberating for less than an hour before finding Roberts guilty.
The teenager also testified during the proceedings about his experience during the encounter.
Roberts had previously made history in DeRidder when she became the city’s first female mayor in 2018.
She won reelection in 2022 and remained in office at the time of the pool party that later triggered the criminal investigation.
Her political career came to an abrupt end weeks later.
Roberts resigned from office shortly before her August 2024 arrest.
During sentencing arguments, Johnson attributed his client’s behavior in part to alcohol abuse and difficulties following her 2022 divorce.
“It would not have happened without alcohol,” Johnson said, adding that Roberts had been attempting to act like the “cool parent” following the breakup of her marriage.
Court filings cited by the Daily Mail indicated Roberts’ two children have lived with her former husband, Duncan Clanton, since December 2024.
Roberts’ sentencing became a flashpoint in the community because the underlying 10-year sentence was suspended, leaving her to serve roughly three months in jail.
Prosecutors later sought a harsher punishment, but the judge declined to increase her sentence.
With the 90-day term now completed, Roberts has been released, though the remaining conditions imposed by the court continue to apply.
The case closes one chapter in the downfall of a politician who, just several years earlier, had been celebrated for becoming DeRidder’s first female mayor.
