Rapper Mystikal has been sentenced in his third-degree rape case, per reports.A judge sentenced the "Danger" rapper, 55, to 20 years in prison on June 16, five years shy of the maximum, according to Louisiana's WBRZ. According to the station, the unnamed victim asked the judge to sentence the Grammy-nominated rapper to the maximum, after testifying that he punched her, strangled her, pulled her braids out and forcibly raped her in his Prairieville, Louisiana, home in 2022.In March the rapper, born Michael Tyler, pleaded guilty after making a plea agreement with prosecutors, which decreased his first-degree rape charge to third degree. Days before sentencing, however, Tyler attempted to withdraw his guilty plea as he said he didn't have time to "fully consider the consequences," per WBRZ.On June 16, Tyler initially tried to address the victim before addressing the court. "If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence," he said, per the station.USA TODAY has reached out to Mystikal's lawyer for comment.Tyler was first arrested in July 2022, after a woman who had been admitted to the emergency room accused him of rape, per the Ascension Parish District Attorney's office. He had been facing nine other criminal charges – including battery, drug possession charges and false imprisonment – the latter after the victim alleged he took her keys and held her against her will, per an arrest warrant previously obtained by USA TODAY. Prosecutors filed notices in March indicating they were no longer pursuing the other charges.Tyler has been accused of rape before.The rapper served six years in prison after pleading guilty in 2003 to sexual battery. In December 2020, prosecutors in Caddo Parish, in northwest Louisiana, dropped rape and kidnapping charges that had kept him jailed for 18 months, which stemmed from a 2016 accusation. He was not convicted of other charges, including marijuana possession and misdemeanor domestic violence, that had been brought against him since the mid-1990s.The Cash Money Records alum gained prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with songs like "Shake It Fast" and "Danger (Been So Long)."Contributing: Melina Khan and Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
Mystikal, 'Shake It Fast' rapper, gets 20 years in prison for rape
Rapper Mystikal has been sentenced in his third-degree rape case, per reports.A judge sentenced the "Danger" rapper, 55, to 20 years in prison on June 16, five years shy of the maximum, according to Louisiana's WBRZ. According to the station, the unnamed victim asked the judge to sentence the Grammy-nominated rapper to the maximum, after testifying that he punched her, strangled her, pulled her braids out and forcibly raped her in his Prairieville, Louisiana, home in 2022.In March the rapper, born Michael Tyler, pleaded guilty after making a plea agreement with prosecutors, which decreased his first-degree rape charge to third degree. Days before sentencing, however, Tyler attempted to withdraw his guilty plea as he said he didn't have time to "fully consider the consequences," per WBRZ.On June 16, Tyler initially tried to address the victim before addressing the court. "If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence," he said, per the station.USA TODAY has reached out to Mystikal's lawyer for comment.Tyler was first arrested in July 2022, after a woman who had been admitted to the emergency room accused him of rape, per the Ascension Parish District Attorney's office. He had been facing nine other criminal charges – including battery, drug possession charges and false imprisonment – the latter after the victim alleged he took her keys and held her against her will, per an arrest warrant previously obtained by USA TODAY. Prosecutors filed notices in March indicating they were no longer pursuing the other charges.Tyler has been accused of rape before.The rapper served six years in prison after pleading guilty in 2003 to sexual battery. In December 2020, prosecutors in Caddo Parish, in northwest Louisiana, dropped rape and kidnapping charges that had kept him jailed for 18 months, which stemmed from a 2016 accusation. He was not convicted of other charges, including marijuana possession and misdemeanor domestic violence, that had been brought against him since the mid-1990s.The Cash Money Records alum gained prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with songs like "Shake It Fast" and "Danger (Been So Long)."Contributing: Melina Khan and Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
