The former superintendent of Iowa’s Des Moines Public School District pleaded guilty on Jan. 22 to falsely claiming that he was a U.S. citizen on a federal form and illegally possessing firearms.
Ian Roberts, who served as the superintendent for Iowa’s largest school district for two years, appeared in court on Thursday wearing a strikingly different outfit than what he wore during his decades-long career as a leader in the educational field.
The Guyana native, who was rejected from obtaining a green card in the United States four times since 2001, had shackles around his waist, chains on his feet, and wrists handcuffed as he acknowledged the details of his plea agreement.
“It is my signature, your honor,” Roberts confirmed while looking at the signed plea agreement.
In the plea agreement between Roberts and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, he confessed to knowingly and intentionally making a “false attestation” that he was a U.S. citizen on the I-9 form that he submitted for his job at Des Moines Public Schools in 2023.
He separately agreed to forfeit the weapons that law enforcement found during and after he was arrested.
A federal weapons charge was slapped onto his case when police discovered a gun in his car as well as a pistol and rifle inside of his home during a search.
He was taken into custody just weeks into the new school year.
Roberts faces up to five years behind bars for falsely claiming he was a U.S. citizen and up to 15 years for illegally possessing firearms, which carry a maximum total of 20 years.
He could be deported back to South America after his sentence is up, according to the plea agreement.
His previous criminal record included criminal possession of narcotics in the 1990s, reckless driving in 2012, and weapons charges from 2020.
“Roberts’ rap sheet and immigration history reveal a long record of criminal conduct in the United States,” ICE wrote in a press release announcing his arrest on Oct. 3.
“He should never have been serving in a role overseeing children in Iowa’s largest school district.”
The Epoch Times has contacted the Des Moines School District for comment.
