A Louisiana jury has indicted New Orleans rapper Mystikal on charges of first-degree rape from an alleged sexual assault that is said to have occurred at his Louisiana home in late July. Should the grand jury find him guilty, the 51-year-old will face a life sentence under state law.
Mystikal, whose real name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, was also handed counts of criminal damage to property, false imprisonment, domestic abuse battery by strangulation, simple robbery and numerous drug possession accusations, according to the New Orleans Advocate.
In a warrant, sheriff’s deputies have accused Tyler of attacking a female in a violent encounter about finances on the night of July 30, during which he allegedly took her car keys and sexually assaulted her.
Earlier last month, Tyler was denied bond and fired his attorney in favor of another lawyer who had previously represented him in another sexual assault case in 2017 (he was met with charges of first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping). Prosecutors dropped that case after Tyler posted bond and had spent roughly 18 months in jail.
“It’s an indictment,” Joel Pearce, Tyler’s attorney, told reporters of the recent charges. “It means nothing. We look forward to our day in court.”
The Grammy-nominated rapper rose to fame in the early 2000s and is best known for the single “Shake (It Fast).” Although he is not signed to a major label contract, Tyler has continued touring and was scheduled to perform a string of shows in the following months before his July 31st arrest.
Tyler became a lifetime registered sex offender in 2003 following another conviction for sexual assault and extortion. He remains in custody at the Ascension Parish Prison, without the possibility of bail.