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.
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.
faze*
Yep, good catch. Thanks!
So weird being in a place that looks vaguely like Reddit but people don’t have an aneurysm when you point something like that out. The expected response was “tHiS iSn’T eNgLiSh ClAsS” and reporting me.
I think the ven diagram is an almost a complete circle with the rich. You don’t become a billionaire by caring about others.
I think one of the Walton kids grew a conscious and started donating that vast fortune. Instead of taxing we just have to wait generations for the kids to care or lose the money gambling or something