Mystikal has pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in connection with his 2022 arrest. The rapper, whose real name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, appeared in a Louisiana courtroom on Tuesday, March 17, and entered the plea after prosecutors reduced the original first-degree rape charge.
The 55-year-old had initially been facing 10 criminal charges in the case, including first-degree rape. During the hearing, prosecutors also filed “nolle prosequi” notices on the remaining charges, formally dropping them and declining to move forward with the rest of the case.
The case dates back to July 30, 2022, when a woman went to the emergency room and accused Mystikal of rape and battery. Authorities later arrested him in Louisiana. According to earlier reporting, the woman told police the incident began after Mystikal accused her of stealing $100 from him at his Prairieville home.
She alleged that he became enraged, prevented her from leaving, took her phone and keys, and physically assaulted her. The woman also claimed Mystikal threw rubbing alcohol on her and forced her to pray with him to rid her body of “bad spirits” before raping her. She later escaped the home and was taken to Baton Rouge General Hospital, where she was reportedly treated for multiple injuries.
Investigators previously said the woman suffered minor injuries, and detectives testified that an examination found wounds consistent with rape. Authorities also said evidence recovered from Mystikal’s home supported the accuser’s account.
The plea significantly lowers the legal stakes for the rapper. According to USA Today, a first-degree rape charge can carry a life sentence, while a third-degree rape conviction carries a far lighter penalty. PEOPLE reports Mystikal now faces up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for June 15.
The case also arrives against the backdrop of Mystikal’s past convictions. He became a lifetime registered sex offender after a 2003 sexual assault conviction and later served six years in federal prison before his release in 2010. In 2017, he was again jailed on separate rape and kidnapping charges, spending 18 months behind bars before being released on bond; those charges were later dropped.
With the guilty plea now entered, the focus shifts to sentencing, but the case remains inseparable from the disturbing allegations that first emerged in 2022.