New Orleans rapper Mystikal has admitted guilt to third-degree rape following claims that he assaulted and robbed a woman at his home in 2022.
The artist, born Michael Tyler, entered the guilty plea on Tuesday (March 17). He had previously been indicted on more serious allegations including first-degree rape, simple criminal damage to property, domestic abuse battery by strangulation, simple robbery, and false imprisonment.
A conviction on the original counts could have resulted in a life sentence. With the plea to third-degree rape, Tyler now faces up to 20 years behind bars.
Tyler, 55, is expected to be sentenced during a court hearing in June.
Authorities allege the 2022 incident took place in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, where the rapper is accused of beating and choking the woman. The victim also claimed Tyler took her keys and phone, and alleged he raped her while she was looking for money she said he had taken.
Mystikal has faced multiple prior legal cases involving sexual and domestic violence. In 2004, he was accused of sexually assaulting his hairstylist, a case that ended with a six-year prison term and a requirement that he register as a sex offender after his release.
He later spent three months in jail in 2012 over misdemeanor domestic abuse charges. In 2017, he was arrested and charged with rape and kidnapping, though prosecutors later dropped those accusations.
More to follow.