Rapper Mystikal has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to raping a woman at his Louisiana home in 2022.
Mystikal, whose real name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in March with a sentencing cap of 20 years, five years less than the maximum punishment for the crime, according to The Associated Press.
His plea deal reduced the charge from first-degree rape, which carries an automatic life sentence.
Before his Tuesday sentencing hearing, the 55-year-old rapper asked a judge to withdraw his guilty plea, saying he “did not have sufficient opportunity to fully consider the consequences,” according to ABC affiliate WBRZ.
The victim appeared before the court on Tuesday and asked for Mystikal to receive the maximum sentence, WBRZ reports.
She said he punched her, choked her, pulled braids out of her hair and forcibly raped her, according to the outlet.
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Mystikal reportedly tried to speak to the victim after she spoke but was only allowed to make his statement to the judge.
“If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence,” he said, according to WBRZ.
Mystikal has been held without bond at the Ascension Parish Jail since his arrest in 2022.
The Louisiana rapper rose to national recognition in the 1990s and is known for his 2000 hit Shake (It Fast), which was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap solo performance category.
In 2017, Mystikal surrendered to authorities in Louisiana, where he faced a sexual assault charge.
He was accused of a sexual assault at a Shreveport casino in October 2016 and was indicted on charges of first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping.
By February 2019, he was released from a Shreveport-area correctional complex on a US$3-million bond.
In December 2020, prosecutors in Caddo Parish dropped the rape and kidnapping charges stemming from the 2016 accusation, according to The Associated Press.
In 2003, the rapper pleaded guilty to sexual battery and extortion charges. Mystikal was released from a Louisiana prison in 2010 after serving six years. He faced five years on probation and was required to register as a sex offender in Louisiana.
— with files from The Associated Press
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