Rapper Mystikal sentenced to six years

[Caliente]

Mystikal is singing the jailhouse blues.

The Grammy-nominated rapper (real name: Michael Taylor) was sentenced to six years behind bars for forcing his hairstylist to perform sexual favors on him.
The 40-year-old victim said that Mystikal and his two bodyguards made her perform oral sex on them after they accused her of stealing $80,000 worth of checks.
Mystikal initially pleaded innocent to the charges, but after police located a videotape the hip-hopster and his hired goons made of the action, the rapper pleaded guilty to charges of sexual battery.
Judge Tony Marabella who imposed the rapper's sentence said it was evident from the tape that the victim was "terrorized."
"The court is convinced that the defendant believes he is above the law and can take the law into his own hands," Marabella said.

The rapper originally faced a 10-year sentence, but it was reduced to six years as part of a plea agreement.
The two bodyguards, Leland Ellis and Vercy Carter, also pleaded guilty to sexual battery charges. Ellis received three years behind bars and Carter got four.
However, it was Mystikal that the judge saw as the "mastermind" behind the attack, which he characterized as "continuous sex acts."

After he serves his six years in prison, Mystikal will remain on probation for five more years for extortion charges. Extortion charges against his bodyguards were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Since the attack, Mystikal has paid the women $350,000. The money and his guilty plea were his way of "continuing to try to make up to all involved for the distress," he told AllHipHop.com in an interview last January.

The victim's lawyers were pleased with the outcome of the sentencing.
"Seeing that they didn't get away with this like a lot of people thought they would is validating," prosecutor Sue Bernie told the Louisiana Advocate.
The victim's civil attorney, Harry Ezim Jr. said he felt that justice had been served for his client.
"She can start the healing process," Ezim said. "Mystikal mystified my client, and today he was mystified by the court system."
The rapper was led from the courtroom in handcuffs and began serving his sentence immediately.

A onetime protg of Master P, Mystikal hit it big as a solo act with 1998's Ghetto Fabulous, which debuted at number five on the charts just days after he was busted on pot and gun charges in his native Louisiana. Mystikal's follow-up CD, Let's Get Ready, debuted at number one in October 2000, chalked up double-platinum sales and contained the Grammy-nominated booty anthem "Shake Ya Ass."
His most recent album, Tarantula, didn't fare as well, opening at 33 in 2001. It did, however, snag Grammy nods for Best Rap Album and Best Male Rap Solo Performance for the hit track "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)."