Rapper Mystikal was scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday (December 4) on sexual battery charges, but the sentencing was postponed when the rapper’s lawyer introduced a motion to have the judge presiding over the case step down, according to the Associated Press.
The rapper’s lawyer, David Bourland, believes that his client may be prejudiced during the sentencing because the judge saw an inflammatory videotape of the alleged sexual battery Bourland told AP, “My client would not have entered a plea if he knew the tape was going to be shown, because it’s inflammatory. The tape doesn’t reflect the entirety of the events.”
Mystikal, whose real name is Michael Tyler, will now be sentenced on January 15 after his lawyer’s complaint has been heard since Judge Tony Marabella refused to step down. The judge maintains that Bourland’s request is groundless.
Mystikal and his two bodyguards pleaded guilty in June to extortion and battery charges stemming from an incident in 2002 where the rapper forced his hairstylist to perform sex acts on him and his bodyguards after learning that she allegedly cashed several unauthorized checks totaling $80,000 from his bank account. The rapper, who videotaped the sex acts, was originally facing aggravated rape charges, but agreed to a plea deal for the lesser two offenses.
Mystikal was sentenced to five years of probation on the extortion charge, and the rapper could receive the maximum 10-year prison sentence when he is sentenced on the sexual battery charge in January.
Credit: Launch