The shared children of disgraced Louisiana mayor Misty Roberts and her ex-husband allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of the ex-leader’s former lover – who later wound up dead, according to court records exclusively reviewed by The Post.
The disturbing docs reveal Roberts’ ex-husband, Duncan Clanton, went as far as filing a civil restraining order to keep the former couple’s two adolescent children away from local pipeliner William Andrew Cronce – a man he claimed had alcoholic, suicidal and “stalky” tendencies during his alleged on-and-off again relationship with Roberts.
“I am fearful for my children’s safety because William Andrew Cronce does have access to weapons/handguns, he is bold enough to publicly voice/threaten suicide and has shown stalking behavior with the mother of my children,” Clanton wrote in a Jan. 24, 2024, letter pleading with a Beauregard Parish court judge to grant the protection order on behalf of his daughter, then 10 years old, and son, 13.
In one particularly troubling example of Cronce’s “instability,” during an argument with Roberts, the laborer allegedly “exited the house by loudly shouting in front of [the kids] that their Mother needs to learn to shut her ‘c—k sucker’, if she knows what’s good for her,” Clanton claimed, explaining that his son had told him about the incident.
Cronce had also posted on Facebook threatening suicide following a breakup from Roberts – and was later found by police “incapacitated and unconscious with a gun on his person,” the ex-husband further alleged.
“If he is brave enough to take his own life, what is to stop him from shooting Misty, our kids and himself?” Clanton wrote.
Despite Cronce allegedly “stalking” Roberts by taking pictures of Roberts’ home and vehicle and sending them to her while they were broken up, she took him back in, according to Clanton.
The father filed the last ditch effort after his ex-wife flagrantly ignored his repeated requests to keep Cronce away from the children – and even disregarded her own daughter’s wishes: “No, she did not want him to come over,” Clanton wrote in the court doc.
Cronce “has a history of instability and alcoholism that is abusive in relationships. Our children told me this is specifically the reason why [his and Roberts] relationship ended, because their Mother didn’t want them to be raised in a household that way.
“Now, they are back together and our children, in my opinion, are forced to witness a toxic relationship,” Clanton said.
Cronce’s lawyer filed a response in the case, denying the abuse allegations and requesting the order be dismissed, on Feb. 2, 2024 – but just three weeks later, the 38-year-old plaintiff was dead.
An online obituary described Cronce as a loving father of two and “a little hardheaded, but always hard-working.”
Cronce, who won the state championship title while playing on the DeRidder High School baseball team, served as the program’s assistant coach in 2022 and 2023.
A pipeliner by profession, one of his passions was “moving dirt quickly.”
It wasn’t clear how Cronce died.
In her own letter to a judge, Roberts – who was found guilty of having sex with her son’s 16-year-old pal Tuesday – admitted that her “strained mental state” as a result of her divorce from Clanton led her to engage in a “severely mental [sic] and physically abusive relationship” afterwards, though she didn’t name the other individual involved.
The Dec. 13, 2024, letter was among numerous court documents related to the former couple’s divorce and custody battle, which The Post viewed before they were hastily sealed on Wednesday.
Many of the records showed Clanton initially expressing support for his ex-wife in the wake of her getting caught having sex with their son’s 16-year-old friend — despite having already divorced Roberts at the time.
“You are a great mom and that’s what’s going to be your foundation. That’s what’s [sic] is going to get you through it,” Clanton wrote in a text dated just two days after the romp, at what prosecutors described as a booze-fueled pool party at Roberts’ home.
“I won’t turn my back on you,” Clanton added.
Her ex-husband’s support continued even after Roberts stepped down from her DeRidder mayor duties – and was subsequently arrested for raping the underage boy.
“I can tell you how glad I am about me and you though. We can be great parents to our kids and not fight or any of that negativity anymore. Let’s just live one day at a time,” Clanton wrote.
But things had not always been so warm and cozy – with text messages from soon after their May 2022 divorce showing Clanton accusing Roberts of having affairs behind his back and demanding she ditch his last name, the Daily Mail reported.
On the latter point, Clanton seethed, “You’ve rode these coattails long enough.”
“It’s funny how many names have been given to me about who all you have slept with. I’ve noticed that there is a guy that shows up to [their son’s] games. Funny how his name is mentioned too,” the ex-husband wrote in another message.
Other texts reveal that Roberts allegedly blamed their divorce on Clanton’s smoking habit – when in reality, he claimed, “You were done before I had a chance to save [the marriage]. My addiction is just your excuse.”
Other court docs show that, just a few months after charges were filed against Roberts, the ex-hubby asked a judge to grant him full custody.
The former pol eventually agreed to allow their kids, ages 16 and 13 at the time, to live full time with Clanton, but she would still get to see the kids.
Roberts also agreed to let Clanton stop paying her $2,750 a month in child support.
The new custody arrangement was not “an admission of guilt” for her sex crimes, Roberts insisted to a judge at a Dec. 18, 2024, hearing, where the judge adamantly encouraged Clanton to “arrange for the children to go to therapy.”
“The Children need counseling,” the judge pressed.
Clanton’s lawyer replied at that hearing that the kids were “already signed up” for counseling.
The estranged couple were officially divorced on May 11, 2023, and at the time had split custody. Roberts had filed for divorce a year earlier.
“My client, Duncan, is just glad that it’s over,” his lawyer, David Wallace, told The Post Wednesday, referring to the sordid criminal case.
“He trumps mom,” Wallace said of the new custody arrangement giving Clanton primary decision-making power over the kids. He added that the jury’s guilty verdict in Roberts’ sex crimes case “doesn’t surprise me at all.”
“Her friends testified against, her kids testified, Duncan testified because she told all these people that it happened. That wasn’t good for her,” he explained.
Roberts’ criminal defense attorney, Todd Clemons, said they are “disappointed” with the verdict but they “respect the jury’s decision.”
“We are certainly going to explore all her appellate rights and continue to advocate for her,” Clemons said about her April 17 sentencing.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
Read the full article here