this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2026
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Misty Roberts, 43, faces sentences of up to 10 and seven years in prison after July 2024 sexual assault at pool party

The former mayor of a Louisiana city has been convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy during a party at her house while she was still in office.

Misty Roberts, 43, faces sentences of up to 10 and seven years in prison after a jury in the municipality of DeRidder on Tuesday found her guilty of two felonies: carnal knowledge of a juvenile – or statutory rape – as well as indecent behavior with a minor.

In October, in an unrelated case, her 40-year-old brother, Brandon Lee Roberts, pleaded guilty to raping two people: an underage girl and a young woman. He subsequently received a 42-year prison sentence.

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[–] saimen@feddit.org 18 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Interesting how in this case it's clearly called "raped a boy" and not "had sex with an underage man".

[–] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I mean, it's much more often called "a romp" or "an affair" when it's a female predator and a young male victim. Usually the r word is reserved for female victims. Hell, one of the experts who did a bunch of the foundational work in studying SA in an interview about a decade ago balked at the idea that men could be victims of women at all.

Epstein's friends get softened language because they're rich and powerful. Women usually get softened language by default. I wonder what made her so awful for this to be reported as a "rape" and not a "romp"?

[–] orioler25@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

It's interesting that you concluded with "this must be an exceptionally violent case" and not "culture is shifting enough that explicitly calling these cases 'rape' is becoming more acceptable." Like, we're in the middle of a moment where sexual violence against minors is, y'know, a big topic. Even if the past ten years hasn't been huge in the proliferation on sexual violence education, the ruling class pedo ring thing is pretty fresh.

[–] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

It’s interesting that you concluded with “this must be an exceptionally violent case” and not “culture is shifting enough that explicitly calling these cases ‘rape’ is becoming more acceptable.”

Cynicism. Well founded cynicism. Though if this is the beginning of a trend and not a one-off I'll be happy to see it.

[–] orioler25@lemmy.world 0 points 12 hours ago

What do you mean, "well founded?" Did you read this article before writing that? Are you telling me you read a lot about sexual violence and rape culture? That'd be pretty nice to see on here, could you point me toward any articles that have done discourse analyses on the representation of sexual violence and young men?

Or you meant "well founded," as in, like, its what you see so it makes sense?

[–] TwilitSky@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago

Throw away the key these genetics are defective.

[–] Generica@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

#notadragqueen

[–] Akasazh@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Still no drag queens or trans people.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago

Close enough to zero for this statement not to be misleading.

[–] Zron@lemmy.world 2 points 20 hours ago (6 children)

10 and 7 years

Who wrote this shit, Abraham Lincoln?

[–] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 19 hours ago

Two charges. Two sentences. Be surprised if she gets even 5 years in actual prison.

[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 2 points 19 hours ago

Two counts. This is correct English.

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 2 points 19 hours ago

it's the correct way to phrase it in context

[–] maniacalmanicmania@aussie.zone 1 points 20 hours ago

I vaguely remember a thread where people from from different countries, and different places places in some countries, explained how it's not uncommon to phrase things this way, or in a similar way.

[–] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 0 points 19 hours ago

Bad AI, I reckon.

[–] SpiceDealer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

In October, in an unrelated case, her 40-year-old brother, Brandon Lee Roberts, pleaded guilty to raping two people: an underage girl and a young woman. He subsequently received a 42-year prison.

I was going to joke how it's "all in the family" but this goes to show how the law treats female offenders different than their male counterparts. In much of the western/anglophone world, we've come to associate sex abuse with men engaging in sexually predatory behavior; little thought is given about women committing sexual offenses since many are (sadly) the victim of such offenses. We've also come to see unbalanced age dynamics (younger man-older woman) as something of a rite of passage for men. If a guy loses his virginity with an older woman, he "scored" or got "lucky." If the roles were gender-swapped, it would rightly be considered assault but the assailant would receive a much higher sentence than the woman.

We have stop treating sexual assault as one-sided.

[–] calcopiritus@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

The sentences are very different (7-10 years to 42 years), but to be fair, the crimes are also different.

1 time might be a "mistake", 2 times is a trend. Also, I don't know the specifics. I know children are not legally able to consent to sex with an adult, but I would punish harder in the case that the child doesn't even "consent" to it. Maybe the boy "consented" and the girl didn't. Also, I assume the "young woman" is an adult, so she definitely didn't consent.

[–] Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 19 hours ago

The DeRidder Diddler

[–] sturmblast@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

GOP = Government of Putin or Government of Pedos. Take your pick or both.

[–] bstix@feddit.dk 21 points 1 day ago

Disclaimer: Put on a tinfoil hat.


The only reason this is all over the news is unfortunately not because it's a despicable crime. Which it is.

However. The story is that: She turned herself in. They were intoxicated by alcohol. She's hot for 40 year old. She's "independent, blablabla. both sides".

No, no, no!

The media is showing this because they want to normalize rape.

There's something a lot worse that never make the news.

Maybe it's the drug epidemic, causing this shit to happen on daily basis in the southern states. Maybe it's people of importance who don't turn themselves in. Maybe it's not the alcohol or libido at all.Maybe it's the ..

Maybe it's in the Epstein files.

[–] MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Can someone confirm or deny, with a reliable source either way, whether she's a Republican?

(I fully expect her to be one but don't want to assume.)

[–] Waraugh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

She was identified as independent in her profile from what I can tell. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t really Republican by most standards as a small town mayor so close to Kansas. Her LinkedIn profile has her following the Koch Holding Company also. I don’t know, I don’t think she effectively accomplished anything in her stint in mayor enough to say she wasn’t an independent. End of the day I guess it doesn’t really matter, I was actually surprised her LinkedIn is still out there like nothings happened.

[–] andallthat@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Probably not, or the title would have been "Mayor had consensual sex with underage man"

[–] jaschen306@sh.itjust.works 105 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Wow, her whole family is so presidential

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[–] ZiggyTheZygote@lemmy.ca 145 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] dhork@lemmy.world 55 points 2 days ago (5 children)

She probably wouldn't, he's too old for her.

[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago

More like she's too old for him.

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[–] NENathaniel@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Got confused by the headline cause 16 would be legal where I am and certainly doesn’t strike me instinctively as “rape”.

That being said, bangin a kid in high school when you’re in your 40s is uncomfy

[–] bold_atlas@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Well you're not alone in having that mindset.

And unfortunately that is why rape continues to be a massive issue today. It's one of the biggest social evil plaguing the human race. Rape islands, sex trafficking, the Epstein files, the AI child porn factories, forced birth returning to America etc, all the same.

[–] kossa@feddit.org 1 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Well you're not alone in having that mindset.

Well, a lot of countries do not have this "18 years is the definitive line" ruleset. Which is made to not criminalize sex between e.g. 19 and 17 years old, which is also kind of ridiculous. OTOH it easily leads to the situation where 40 years and 16 years is also legal (in Germany e.g. when there's no power dynamic between the parties - so 40 yo teacher and his pupil - nono; "random encounter" legal as long as there's consent). But then again how would the law be written to make it better, like some crazy formula to check for?!

In America, where most states the age of consent is 18, there are also laws that carve out exceptions if both parties are close in age. So a 19 year old is allowed have sex with a 17 year old, but a 45 year old isn't.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 8 points 1 day ago

I'm honestly surprised the age of consent isn't 16 in Louisiana like it is in the majority of states.

[–] core@leminal.space 77 points 2 days ago (1 children)

She rapes a 16yr old boy. Her brother rapes an underage girl. They're both underage, both are pedophelia, yet the boy gets reported differently than the girl.

Brother and sister are both rapists, that's fucked up family there. Wonder how many dad and mom have raped.

[–] EndOfLine@lemmy.world 60 points 2 days ago (1 children)

His conviction was for repeated assaults of multiple victims over the course of several years, one victim was 13 when it started. Hers was for a single assault of a single victim.

https://nypost.com/2026/03/03/us-news/brother-of-louisiana-mayor-accused-of-raping-16-year-old-pleaded-guilty-to-also-raping-teen/

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[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

is DERIDDER an anagram for diddler.

[–] dtaylor84@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 19 hours ago

They're different lengths and different sets of letters, so, uh, no?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 75 points 2 days ago (1 children)

America might have a white trash problem.

[–] TronBronson@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Kid rock is assisting the executive branch with propaganda…. You might be on to something here

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[–] edgarde@lemmy.world 54 points 2 days ago (10 children)

Is almost everyone like this and we just didn't know? Or is our political class just dominated by people like this?

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

The second option, I'd say.

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

People who want to do stuff forbidden to the public look for positions of power.

Some of this stuff is good like taxing rich people and requiring car companies to put seat belts in vehicles.

A lot of these ambitions are bad: pedophilia, cruelty, torture, corruption, selling off public assets, building strip malls, etc.

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[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 day ago

I think to seek out power you have to be one of two kinds of people

  1. You truly want to change the world for the better

  2. You want power over others

2 is IMO by far more common and I'm not surprised that those kinds of people don't see rules applying to themselves and also like dominating people.

Like... I'm also horny and kinky... I'll go as far as saying that I think I'd call myself a dom switch. But I don't see the appeal of doing it with kids or even teens. Even when it comes to ~~Computer numerical control~~ Consensual non-consent, it just... isn't attractive if it's not actually consensual. When we're done with it all, I want to cuddle up with my partner for a breather, have a shower together and then go back to being equal partners who support each other through life. Most of all, I want her to enjoy it more than I do.

But these people, it seems they want to actually subjugate people for real. Maybe not this mayor, she had sex with a 16 year old boy who likely in some jurisdictions could've been considered consenting. Hell I would've done it at his age (now that I'm older, I do of course realize that SHE should've still known better, as the adult). But I think a lot of these people in power actually enjoy causing pain and misery to those who can't resist.

[–] Reyali@lemmy.world 31 points 2 days ago (5 children)

It’s been a few years since I read it, but the book The Sociopath Next Door did a lot to inform how I think of this.

In the book, the author gives the stat that about 4% of the population are sociopaths, which is defined as people who lack empathy and a conscience. She explains that often, sociopaths highly crave success, but posits that what defines “success” is largely dependent on one’s culture.

In the US, success usually looks like having a lot of money, fame, and/or power, so: actors, politicians, CEOs, etc. And when one doesn’t have empathy, that makes it easier to step on others in order to achieve that success. She explains that in other cultures, like in India, success is more about how one fits into and supports their community. So while they have the same driving motivation (success), the steps to achieve it are wildly different.

Based on that, I say with confidence that “almost everyone” is NOT like this. However, sociopaths are significantly more likely to become those who are rich, famous, and powerful. And this kind of abuse doesn’t phase sociopaths because they don’t have empathy.

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