Rapper Mystikal accused of rape, extortion
Rap artist Mystikal was arrested Thursday (7/19) on rape and extortion charges stemming from a July 3 incident in his Baton Rouge, La., apartment, according to police.
Rap artist Mystikal was arrested Thursday (7/19) on rape and extortion charges stemming from a July 3 incident in his Baton Rouge, La., apartment, according to police.
Mystikal, whose real name is Michael Tyler, reportedly spent about four hours in jail before posting a $250,000 bond. Also arrested were two of the rapper’s friends. The three men stand accused of raping a 40-year-old woman.
According to police, the woman arrived at Tyler’s home to braid his hair when Tyler “allegedly confronted the victim about an incident involving several checks written to her by another individual out of his account, and without his consent.”
Tyler threatened to hurt the woman and to expose her alleged fraudulent-check writing to police, police reports said. He then allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him.
“Tyler then contacted two male associates and told them to come to his residence immediately, which they did,” police said. “Upon their arrival, Tyler raped the victim in the presence of the other two individuals and again forced her to perform oral sex on him. She was also sexually assaulted by the two men and raped by one of them.”
The woman was allowed to leave the apartment after the attacks, after which she was treated at a local hospital and released.
According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, much of the alleged attack was videotaped. “Detectives viewed the video cassette and confirmed that the accused and two co-defendants had sexually assaulted the victim,” the arrest warrant reportedly said.
Tyler, who turned himself in to police on Thursday, reportedly proclaimed his innocence. “Of course not,” he said in response to questions about whether he had committed the crime, according to the Advocate.
The victim signed an affidavit, which detectives reportedly obtained on July 9, in which she said she had consensual sex with Tyler and the two other suspects. She later told detectives that she signed the affidavit because she was confused and afraid, and that she still wished to file criminal charges, according to the arrest warrant.
Mystikal’s most-recent CD, “Tarantula,” was released last December, and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping more than 500,000 copies in the U.S.
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