Mystikal Has Been Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Raping A Woman At His Louisiana Home In 2022

Mystikal, the Louisiana rapper who received multiple Grammy nominations in the early 2000s for hits including "Shake Ya Ass," was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to third-degree rape for an attack on a woman at his home in Ascension Parish in 2022.

The sentence is the maximum available under his plea agreement and was handed down after the victim spoke in court and asked the judge to impose it.

The victim described what happened in 2022 in terms that left the courtroom with no ambiguity about the nature of the crime.

She told the court that Mystikal choked her, pulled her braids from her hair and forcibly raped her.

He took her phone and her car keys so she could not leave. When the assault was over, he forced her to send him money through CashApp.

Detectives identified him as a suspect after speaking with her at the hospital where she was being treated for her injuries, which were described as visible.

After the victim finished speaking, Mystikal addressed the court. "If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence." The judge gave him 20 years.

The Case And What Preceded It

Mystikal, whose given name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, was arrested in 2022 and has been held without bond at Ascension Parish Jail since.

The original charge was first-degree rape, which carries an automatic life sentence in Louisiana.

In March 2026, he pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of third-degree rape under a plea agreement that capped his sentence at 20 years, five less than the maximum punishment for that charge.

In the days before Tuesday's sentencing, Mystikal asked the judge to let him withdraw his guilty plea, saying he had not had sufficient opportunity to fully consider the consequences of pleading guilty.

He then filed a second motion withdrawing the request to withdraw his plea, a reversal that suggested his legal strategy was uncertain in the final days before the hearing.

The judge denied the withdrawal and the sentencing proceeded.

The Prior Conviction That Context Requires

This is not Mystikal's first sexual violence conviction.

In 2003, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery and was sentenced to six years in prison, a conviction that predates the Grammy nominations for which he was recognized at the height of his commercial career.

He was nominated that same year for best rap album for "Tarantula" and best male rap solo performance for "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against The Wall)."

He served that sentence, returned to public life and was arrested again in 2022. He will serve 20 years.