Rapper Mystikal Arrested On First-Degree Rape And False Imprisonment Charges

New Orleans rapper Mystikal was arrested Sunday on rape and false imprisonment charges. The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the 51-year-old, whose real name is Michael Tyler, was also charged with robbery, strangulation, domestic abuse battery, and criminal damage to property.

Mystikal was arrested after deputies responded to a report of sexual assault at an area hospital late Saturday night. After interviewing the victim, who had sustained minor injuries, the authorities found that the rapper was the attacker.

“Through further investigation, Michael ‘Mystikal’ Tyler was identified as a suspect,” the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office said in a press release.

The Sheriff’s Office spokesperson also said that the rapper had been in the custody of the Ascension Parish Jail since early Sunday morning and that an investigation was underway. “This is an ongoing investigation. Further details may be limited at this time,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mystikal’s attorney, Roy Maughan, hopes that the rapper would be out of prison soon. “We expect he will be released later in the week. Once he is, we will begin our investigation of the allegations. There has been little opportunity to discuss them in detail thus far,” Maughan said in a statement to People.

“Our investigation into the facts has just begun, but we expect Mystikal will be granted bail,” Maughan added.

This is not the first time Mystikal has been accused of rape. He was imprisoned in 2003 for six years for sexual battery and extortion. During the trial at the time, the rapper pleaded guilty to forcing his then-hairstylist to perform sex acts on him and his two bodyguards after the hairstylist allegedly cashed a hefty amount of unauthorized checks from Mystikal’s account.

Following his release, Mystikal was forced to register as a sex offender in Louisiana.

He also spent 18 months in jail in 2017 due to rape and kidnapping charges but was released after posting a $3 million bond. The Caddo Parish District Attorney in Louisiana later dropped the charges after a second grand jury declined to bring an indictment.