*Accused rapist Mystikal is finally a free man… TMZ reports.
The 48-year-old rapper was recently released from a Louisiana prison after posting a $3 million bond.
The money reportedly came from an advance for a new record deal, as well as fundraisers conducted by his friends and family, per Complex.
Back in 2017, Mystikal –born Michael Lawrence Tyler– was indicted on first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping charges. He was allegedly one of three men accused of an October 2016 assault at a casino in Shreveport. The rapper turned himself in “to get this business rectified, to get this behind me,” he told a reporter at the time.
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Floyd Mayweather Drops Over $200K at Gucci, Slams Blackface Boycott [VIDEO]
Mystikal pleaded not guilty to the charges in December 2017 and is expected to go on trial this spring.
“Based on all of the evidence we have, we strongly believe that an amicable resolution is not only possible but probable as an outcome in this case and that Michael Tyler will never be made to return to jail for a crime he didn’t commit,” said his lawyer Joel Pearce.
The rapper’s other attorney, Tim Yazbeck, confirmed to TMZ on Tuesday: “It’s been a long time coming for Mike, but now he can get back to being the artist he is, doing what he loves, and seeing his kids again.”
Mystikal is reportedly due back in court on May 20.
Back in 2003, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery and no contest to extortion in an unrelated incident. In January 2004, he was sentenced to six years in prison.
Averweone Darnell Holman and Tenichia Monieck Wafford were also indicted for their role in this most recent incident. Holman on one count each of first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping and Wafford on one count of obstruction of justice.
Wafford claimed the alleged victim was lying. “Ain’t nobody did nothing to that girl, like for real,” she told TMZ in a video message. “She even told me—and yes, I got it on record—that she said ain’t nobody did nothing to her. This is some bullsh*t though, they done threw me for a loop, ’cause if I would’ve knew all that, I wouldn’t have even called. I just called to check up on a friend. That’s all I was doing.”
