Rapper Mystikal arrested on charges of rape and false imprisonment
The charges stem from a reported incident in Louisiana on the night of July 30
New Orleans-based rapper Mystikal (born Michael Tyler) has been arrested in Louisiana on multiple charges including rape and false imprisonment, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office shared in a media release today.
According to the release, the arrest stems from an incident that allegedly occurred just before midnight on July 30 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Per Sheriff Bobby Webre, deputies with the APSO responded to a local hospital regarding a reported sexual assault. After interviewing the unidentified victim, authorities identified Tyler as a suspect. Shortly after, Tyler was arrested and booking at the Ascension Parish Jail on charges of first-degree rape, simple robbery, domestic abuse battery, strangulation, false imprisonment, and simple criminal damage to property.
Although the release did not share any additional details about the case, it confirmed that Tyler’s case remains an ongoing investigation. The release was accompanied by a standard booking shot of Tyler and the statement: “All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
These charges are not the first Tyler has faced for sexual assault: back in 2003, the rapper was accused of sexual battery and extortion after he and two of his bodyguards’ forced a woman (who was working at the time as his hairstylist) to perform oral sex before accusing her of stealing $80,000 worth of checks from their possession. After pleading guilty to the charges, Tyler was sentenced to six years in prison, per Rolling Stone, and was mandated to enter himself on the sex offender registry upon his release in 2010.
Seven years later, in 2017, Tyler was indicted again on rape and kidnapping charges stemming from an alleged 2016 incident in Shreveport, Louisiana. Although Tyler was released from prison again in early 2019 when he posted bond, the charges were ultimately dropped in 2020 when “additional evidence and information were discovered,” according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press.
If you or someone you know is suffering from sexual abuse, contact the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.