A Louisiana grand jury on Wednesday indicted rapper Mystikal on first-degree rape costs, based on experiences.

The alleged sexual assault occurred on July 30, when authorities say the rapper, whose title is Michael Lawrence Tyler, held a girl towards her will in his Prairieville residence, based on The New Orleans Advocate. Mystikal is now dealing with a compulsory life sentence underneath state regulation if convicted, Rolling Stone reported.

“It’s an indictment,” his legal professional Joel Pearce mentioned Wednesday. “It means nothing. We look ahead to our day in court docket.”

The 51-year-old rapper was arrested on July 31 and has been held on the Ascension Parish Jail ever since. He faces 9 different felony counts together with home abuse battery by strangulation, theft, felony injury to property, a number of drug-related offenses and false imprisonment.

An Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Workplace spokesperson informed Baton Rouge CBS affiliate WAFB that detectives interviewed the accuser at a neighborhood hospital shortly after the alleged assault. She not solely bore accidents constant along with her claims, however recognized Mystikal as her assailant, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.

Sheriff’s Det. Garrett Keith testified on Aug. 2 that the girl visited Mystikal’s residence at 8 p.m. on July 30 to debate alleged monetary dealings they made, based on The Related Press. Keith mentioned she informed him Mystikal choked her, apologized, cleansed her of “dangerous spirits” with rubbing alcohol and raped her.

Mystikal fired his first legal professional when a decide denied him bond throughout a listening to in August. He finally employed Pearce, who represented Mystikal throughout one other sexual assault case in 2017.

The rapper has been charged with first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping earlier than.

In 2016, a girl alleged Mystikal raped her whereas she was intoxicated. The rapper was held in jail for 18 months, starting in August 2017, earlier than being launched on a $3 million bond in 2019 after new proof was offered to a second grand jury. The fees had been dismissed in 2020, based on the AP.

Mystikal additionally beforehand pleaded responsible to and was convicted of sexual battery in 2003. He spent six years in jail for the crime and is a lifetime registered intercourse offender. He was sentenced to 90 days for home abuse in 2012.

Need assistance? Go to RAINN’s Nationwide Sexual Assault On-line Hotline or the Nationwide Sexual Violence Useful resource Heart’s web site.