Mystikal Arrested on Rape, False Imprisonment Charges

The rapper Mystikal was arrested over the weekend and charged with several crimes, including rape and false imprisonment.

The sheriff’s office in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, said the 52-year-old rapper, real name Michael Tyler, was arrested Sunday, July 31, and he is currently being held without bond. His charges include first-degree rape, domestic abuse battery (strangulation), false imprisonment, simple robbery, and simple criminal damage to property. 

Just before midnight the night prior, on July 30, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said deputies “responded to an area hospital in reference to a sexual assault. Detectives interviewed the victim who sustained injuries during the attack.” Tyler was ultimately identified as a suspect.

The investigation is still ongoing. Reps for Tyler did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.

Tyler has faced sexual assault charges twice in the past. In 2004, after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting his hairstylist, he was sentenced to six years in prison and had to register as a sex offender upon his release in 2010. In 2017, he turned himself into authorities and was charged with rape stemming from an alleged incident in Shreveport, Louisiana, the year before. While Mystikal spent several years in prison again until he was able to post bond, the charges were ultimately dropped in 2020 for lack of evidence.