{"id":673343,"date":"2026-05-30T02:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T02:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/673343\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T02:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T02:49:14","slug":"former-des-moines-superintendent-ian-roberts-sentenced-to-2-years-in-prison-before-deportation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/673343\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Des Moines superintendent Ian Roberts sentenced to 2 years in prison before deportation"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was updated at 8:08 p.m. on May 29, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Former Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) Superintendent Ian Roberts was sentenced Friday to two years in prison after pleading guilty to federal immigration and weapons charges.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roberts was the first Black superintendent at DMPS. He led the state\u2019s largest school district from July 2023 until he resigned in October\u00a0following his arrest by\u00a0U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a>\u00a0(ICE).\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0plea deal reached with prosecutors<\/a>, Roberts\u00a0admitted to\u00a0lying about being a citizen when he was hired by the school district. He did not have authorization to work in the U.S. at that time. A judge issued an order to remove him from the country in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also pleaded guilty to\u00a0possessing\u00a0a firearm without legal status in the U.S. Investigators found four guns in Roberts\u2019 car and home after he was arrested, including a loaded handgun in his\u00a0district-issued car.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roberts will be credited for the time\u00a0he’s\u00a0already been incarcerated since his arrest, which his attorney said could be around nine months by the time\u00a0he’s\u00a0transported.\u00a0The\u00a0Guyana-native\u00a0is expected to be deported to the South American country after he serves his sentence.\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roberts addresses the court\u00a0<\/p>\n

As part of the sentencing hearing,\u00a0Roberts\u00a0addressed\u00a0the courtroom,\u00a0handcuffed and\u00a0wearing\u00a0a green-striped uniform\u00a0and with a graying beard.\u00a0He\u00a0spoke\u00a0of\u00a0his experiences growing up impoverished in Guyana\u00a0and\u00a0working\u00a0in law enforcement\u00a0there. Roberts detailed later\u00a0attending college\u00a0in the U.S.\u00a0and\u00a0becoming an athlete\u00a0before\u00a0finding his passion for education.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am pleading with you for leniency, for mercy,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roberts called his crimes \u201can ethical lapse,\u201d acknowledging\u00a0he had disappointed thousands of children and hundreds of adults who work with them.\u00a0The former superintendent\u00a0said he was asking for an \u201copportunity for redemption.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret what I\u2019ve done every single day,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those in attendance included Roberts\u2019\u00a0wife,\u00a0Lenisha,\u00a0state Sen. Renee Hardman, D-West Des Moines,\u00a0and Nicole Price, the owner of an education consulting company\u00a0that\u00a0Roberts worked with and\u00a0had\u00a0a\u00a0personal relationship<\/a>\u00a0with.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prosecutor Mckenzie Tubbs\u00a0also acknowledged Roberts\u2019\u00a0\u201cpositive contributions\u201d\u00a0as an educator but said\u00a0the\u00a0recommended\u00a037-month\u00a0sentence\u00a0was\u00a0warranted\u00a0given the \u201cdeliberate and sustained nature\u201d of his actions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the sentencing recommendation, three of Roberts\u2019 firearms were\u00a0purchased\u00a0by a spouse. And, although he repeatedly sought permanent residence, Roberts was officially authorized to work in the U.S. for just\u00a018 months\u00a0out of a 15-year career in education that included stops in Washington, D.C.,\u00a0Missouri,\u00a0Pennsylvania\u00a0and Iowa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tubbs\u00a0said Roberts\u00a0made \u201ca choice to exploit the\u00a0trust of the public.\u201d
\u00a0
Federal District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger said she lowered Roberts\u2019 sentencing to two years due to his engagement with needy communities as an educator and his difficult childhood circumstances growing up in Guyana.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0Ebinger\u00a0said,\u00a0Roberts\u2019 crimes were\u00a0\u201cnot an isolated ethical lapse or administrative error\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0pointed\u00a0out that\u00a0Roberts\u00a0knowingly and repeatedly lied about his citizenship to secure employment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In explaining her sentencing,\u00a0the\u00a0judge\u00a0said his actions led to\u00a0outrage and confusion\u00a0among\u00a0community\u00a0members, who\u00a0had believed Roberts to be an upstanding\u00a0leader.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ebinger\u00a0said\u00a0letters\u00a0submitted\u00a0on Roberts\u2019 behalf showed he clearly had a positive impact\u00a0\u201cdespite the deception\u201d\u00a0and was committed to principles of equity.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the hearing concluded, Ebinger told Roberts she wishes him the best.\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n

Probation request denied\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roberts\u2019\u00a0defense\u00a0attorney, Alfredo Parrish,\u00a0unsuccessfully asked for leniency in his sentencing.\u00a0Parrish\u00a0argued probation was more\u00a0appropriate than\u00a0prison time\u00a0because\u00a0Roberts\u00a0had a\u00a0positive impact on the schools and students he worked with, and\u00a0because\u00a0he\u00a0was not accused of violent crimes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need an expert to tell us he\u2019s a complex human being,\u201d Parrish said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parrish\u00a0contended\u00a0that\u00a0imprisonment, rather than\u00a0probation,\u00a0would drain more tax dollars. He also pointed to\u00a0Roberts’\u00a0performance as a superintendent as being \u201con target.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a bad thing to do good work,\u201d Parrish said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A court filing included letters from dozens of people who\u00a0encountered\u00a0Roberts over the course of his\u00a0career and\u00a0have\u00a0continued\u00a0to support him.\u00a0Rev. Jonathan Whitfield\u00a0of Corinthian Baptist Church in Des Moines\u00a0asked the court to look beyond the charges. He\u00a0said\u00a0students looked up to Roberts<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies, colleagues and students alike have experienced\u00a0his\u00a0dedication, patience and willingness to\u00a0serve,\u201d Whitfield wrote. \u201cHe has\u00a0sought\u00a0to uplift those who may otherwise have been overlooked, helping them believe in their own potential and pursue constructive paths forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lillie Parker, a retired Des Moines police officer, said the charges against Roberts are serious, but\u00a0the judge should also consider the impact he had in\u00a0a short time\u00a0with the district.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“His mere presence provided a rare and powerful source of hope,\u201d Parker wrote. \u201cAs an educated man of color, an author and an Olympic Medalist, Dr. Roberts embodied the tangible possibility of achievement for children who too often lack visible representations of success that\u00a0mirror their own lived experiences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

After the sentencing hearing, Parrish said Roberts wants to continue working in education.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0expect him to continue this work in Guyana,\u201d Parrish said. \u201cWe have been in touch with the Guyana Consulate\u00a0General in New York, and so\u00a0we’re\u00a0trying to do everything we can to\u00a0expedite\u00a0his return\u00a0to Guyana.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When his sentence is completed, Roberts will be under the jurisdiction of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, which executes removal orders. Ebinger also granted a request by Roberts\u2019 lawyers to have him placed in another facility to expedite his deportation once his sentence is served.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was updated at 8:08 p.m. on May 29, 2026. \u2014 Former Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-673343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}