New Orleans rapper Mystikal allegedly raped woman at his Prairieville home, jailed without bail

PRAIRIEVILLE — Mystikal, a New Orleans rapper who has been charged with sexual assault twice in the past two decades, was sentenced on new charges after a woman reported being raped at her home in the capital over the weekend.

Arrest records indicate that 52-year-old Michael Tyler, better known by his stage name Mystikal, was arrested on Sunday and convicted on multiple counts, including first-degree rape and forcible confinement.

He is being held in jail without bond at the moment. A bail hearing is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

An arrest warrant detailed the violent assault, which happened on Saturday and involved an acquaintance who was visiting Tyler’s Prairieville home. Documents say Tyler accused the woman of stealing $100 cash from him before punching her, choking her, ripping her pigtails out and taking her keys and phone to stop her leaving.

The victim said she started looking all over Tyler’s house for the missing money, hoping it would calm him down. During the search, she told deputies she came across a “crystalline substance” in a drawer, which investigators believe could be methamphetamine.

The woman also described Tyler as going through bizarre mood swings, one moment scolding her for the missing money and the next becoming “very sorry” and asking her to pray with him.

That’s when Tyler allegedly asked the woman if he could “smell” her. When she refused, the victim was pushed onto a bed and forcibly raped.

After the assault, the report says Tyler again asked the victim to “return” the missing $100 via CashApp and gave the woman her phone so she could pay. While she was setting up the payment, Tyler allegedly picked up the phone, entered the $150 amount, and sent the payment to himself.

After that he returned the phone and the woman was finally allowed to leave.

As the victim walked away, she phoned a friend who agreed to meet her at a hospital in Baton Rouge. There, a sexual assault kit was carried out on the victim and deputies found injuries matching his description of the attack.

Tyler previously faced similar allegations in 2004 after he sexually assaulted his hairdresser, media reported. He spent six years in prison after his arrest and registered as a sex offender upon his release.

He was arrested again in 2017, turning himself in to police after learning there was a warrant for his arrest in connection with an assault that allegedly occurred at a Shreveport casino. The 2017 charges were eventually dropped and Tyler was released from jail on $3 million bond.

His full list of charges includes first degree rape, forcible confinement, domestic violence (strangulation), simple theft and simple criminal damage to property.

Donovan Jackson of the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said that despite his fame, he was not treated any differently.

“He showed no sympathy to the victim, and he won’t get any sympathy or special treatment,” Jackson said. “He will be in the general population and incarcerated like anyone else.”

After searching Tyler’s home, deputies said they found several drugs. Tyler will be sentenced to additional charges for possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, Xanax, heroin and drug paraphernalia.