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.

  • edgarde@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    27
    ·
    4 months ago

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

    • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      4 months ago

      No, these people are rare. The problem is that their impact is outsized. One person can harm many over the course of several years. It doesn’t take a lot of bad actors like this to cause a lot of harm in society.

    • Reyali@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      4 months ago

      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.

    • Fedizen@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      4 months ago

      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.

  • MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    4 months ago

    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.)