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New Orleans rapper Mystikal arrested for rape will stay in jail; judge denies bond
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PRAIRIEVILLE - Mystikal, a rapper from New Orleans who has been accused of sexual assault twice in the past two decades, was booked on new charges after a woman reported being raped at his capital area home over the weekend.
Arrest records say Michael Tyler, 52, better known by his stage name Mystikal, was arrested Sunday and booked on several charges including first-degree rape and false imprisonment.
In a bond hearing Tuesday afternoon, an Ascension Parish judge determined Tyler will be held without a bond. The rapper shook his head in disagreement often during the hearing, especially as a detective described the alleged rape.
"We're extremely disappointed that the judge decided he needed to hold Mr. Tyler without bond," said Roy Maughan, Tyler's attorney.
An arrest warrant detailed the violent assault, which happened Saturday and involved an acquaintance who was visiting Tyler's home in Prairieville. Documents said Tyler accused the woman of stealing $100 cash from him before punching her, choking her, pulling braids out of her hair and taking her keys and phone to prevent her from leaving.
The victim said she began looking all over Tyler's home for the missing money, hoping it would calm him down. During the search, she told deputies she stumbled upon a "crystalline substance" in a drawer, which investigators believe may have been meth.
The woman also described Tyler as going through bizarre mood swings, one moment berating her over the missing money and the next becoming "very apologetic" and asking her to pray with him.
It's at that point Tyler reportedly asked the woman if he could "feel" her. When she refused, the victim was pushed onto a bed and forcibly raped.
After the assault, the report said Tyler again demanded the victim "return" the missing $100 through CashApp and gave the woman her phone so she could pay him. While she was setting up the payment, Tyler allegedly took the phone back, entered the amount of $150 and sent the payment to himself.
After that, he gave the phone back and the woman was finally allowed to leave.
As the victim drove away, she phoned a friend who agreed to meet her at a Baton Rouge hospital. There, a sexual assault kit was performed on the victim and deputies found injuries consistent with her description of the attack.
Tyler previously faced similar allegations in 2004 after sexually assaulting his hairstylist, news outlets reported. He spent six years in prison following the arrest and registered as a sex offender upon his release.
He was arrested again in 2017, surrendering himself to police after learning there was a warrant out for his arrest related to an assault that allegedly happened in a Shreveport casino. The charges from 2017 were eventually dropped, and Tyler was released from jail on a $3 million bond.
His full list of charges includes first-degree rape, false imprisonment, domestic abuse battery (strangulation), simple robbery, and simple criminal damage to property.
Donovan Jackson with the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office said despite his fame he's not being treated differently.
"He didn't show the victim any sympathy, and he won't get any sympathy or special treatment," Jackson said. "He will be in general population and incarcerated like anyone else."
After searching Tyler's home, deputies said they found multiple drugs. Tyler will be booked on additional charges for the possession of meth, marijuana, Xanax, heroin and drug paraphernalia.
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