On Wednesday, a federal magistrate judge set a trial date for Ian Roberts, the former Des Moines Public School Superintendent. Roberts is charged with illegally possessing firearms while being in the country without legal authorization, and for knowingly making a false statement on a federal form he submitted to the Des Moines School Board.
Magistrate Judge William Kelly set Monday, Dec. 1 as the trial’s opening day, with pretrial motions to be submitted by Nov. 10.
Roberts was arrested by ICE agents, assisted by Iowa State Troopers, on Sept. 26. According to ICE, an immigration judge issued an order of removal for Roberts, a citizen of Guyana, in May 2023, the same month he was hired as DMPS superintendent. Roberts appealed that decision, but his appeal was rejected in April this year.
Until he was arrested by ICE, the school board was unaware of Roberts’ status, because he claimed to be an American citizen — as he had at previous jobs, including as superintendent of Millcreek Township School District in Pennsylvania — and presented documentation to support his claim. The Des Moines School Board has filed a lawsuit against JC Consulting, the Texas-based firm that conducted its search for a superintendent in 2023, which resulted in Roberts being hired.
“The firm failed its duty to properly vet candidates,” Board Chair Jackie Norris said after the special session in which the lawsuit was approved. “Ian Roberts should have never been presented as a finalist. And if we knew what we knew now, he would never have been hired.”
After Roberts was taken into custody by ICE, a loaded handgun was found under the driver’s seat of the DMPS vehicle he was driving. Later that day, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search warrant at Roberts’ home in southeast Des Moines. The agents seized a rifle, a shotgun and a handgun.
On Oct. 2, Roberts, who was being held in Woodbury County Jail on an ICE detainer, was arrested on the firearms possession charge on the order of the U.S. Attorney in Des Moines. He was transferred to Polk County Jail, where he remains in custody.
On Oct. 16, a federal grand jury in Des Moines indicted Roberts on the firearm charge and also on a count of making a false statement on a federal document. The second charge is based on Roberts claiming he was a U.S. citizen on the I-9 form he submitted during the hiring process with DMPS. An I-9 is the employment eligibility form for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on which an individual affirms they are a citizen or otherwise eligible to work in the United States.
Roberts has pleaded not guilty to both charges. If convicted for lying on the I-9 form, Roberts faces the possibility of a fine and up to five years in prison. If he is convicted of the firearms charge, he could face a fine and a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Also on Wednesday, State Auditor Rob Sand said his office would audit the process the Iowa Department of Education’s Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE) used to award Roberts the license he needed to be superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools. Last week, Sand announced his office would audit DMPS to examine issues and processes related to Roberts.
“Des Moines Public Schools are taking an appropriate step by requesting an audit from the State Auditor’s office, but the responsibility for transparency extends beyond DMPS,” Bisignano said in a statement about his request for an audit of BOEE. “Iowans deserve to understand how processes at the state level failed to identify this series of deceptions.”
