Mystikal Arrested on Rape, Domestic Abuse Charges in Louisiana

Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office

Mystikal, a New Orleans-born rapper who was once a prominent part of Master P’s No Limit Records roster during its heyday, was arrested in Louisiana over the weekend and faces several charges including rape.

A spokesperson for the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said the 51-year-old musician was arrested just before midnight on Saturday, July 30, after deputies responded to a local hospital in reference to a sexual assault.

The victim, who sustained minor injuries during the attack, identified Mystikal, whose real name is Michael Tyler, as the suspect and he was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail. He is facing multiple charges including first-degree rape, simple robbery, domestic abuse battery, strangulation, false imprisonment and simple criminal damage to property.

This is just the latest legal trouble for the former star who exploded onto the hip-hop scene in the 1990s with the song “It Ain’t My Fault” and had his biggest hit in 2000 with “Shake Ya A***," which peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

He was sentenced to six years in prison in 2004 after pleading guilty to sexual battery. In 2010, he was released and registered as a sex offender in Louisiana. Just two years later, however, a domestic battery charge against his then-partner put him back in prison, where he served three months for violating his probation.

That was not the end of his legal troubles. He turned himself into the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Department in 2017 after a warrant was issued for his arrest for charges of first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping arising from a 2016 allegation. The rapper spent 18 months in jail before being released on a $3 million bond. Eventually, the Caddo Parish District Attorney closed the investigation, citing a lack of sufficient evidence.