Mystique was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of raping a woman in her own home in Louisiana in 2022.
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Multiple Grammy-nominated rapper Mystique has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a woman in her Louisiana home in 2022.
Michael Lawrence Taylor, aka Mystique, pleaded guilty in March to third-degree rape. That reduced his sentence to 20 years, five years short of the maximum. Before he pleaded guilty, Mystique was charged with first-degree rape, which carries a life sentence.
Just days before Tuesday's hearing, he had asked the judge to overturn his guilty plea, saying he "did not have enough opportunity to fully consider the consequences." Speaking in court before the sentencing, the victim asked the judge to give Mystique the maximum sentence. The woman accused the rapper of punching, choking, pulling her hair and forcibly raping her.
According to a local television channel, Mystikal responded by saying that he “deserved the maximum sentence if he did that.” The rapper’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mystikal has been held in the Ascension Parish prison since his arrest in 2022.
He previously pleaded guilty to sexual assault in 2003 and was sentenced to six years in prison. That same year, he was nominated for two Grammy Awards.
