Mystikal surrenders to authorities over sexual assault charge

Rapper Mystikal has surrendered to authorities in the US state of Louisiana, where he faces a sexual assault charge.

A video recorded by KSLA-TV shows the 46-year-old rapper, whose real name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, as he entered the Caddo correctional centre in northwest Louisiana on Monday 21 August. According to Press Association, online booking records also confirm his location.

Tyler was wanted on a warrant that listed a charge of first-degree rape. According to the local news station, Shreveport police issued an arrest warrant for the rapper alongside another man, on Friday.

KSLA reported that the allegation stems from an occurrence at a Shreveport casino last October as the Legends of Southern Hip-Hop tour took place in the city, which Mystikal was performing in. In 2004, he was sentenced for a six-year prison term for sexual battery and extortion for attacking his former hairstylist. Tyler was released from a Louisiana prison in 2010.

Roy Maughan Jr, a Baton Rouge lawyer who has previously represented Tyler in some matters, said he was uncertain whether counsel has been retained for the current case.

Mystikal is best known for his 2000 single Shake Ya Ass, and most recently featured on Mark Ronson’s Uptown Special album.