Why was Viper the rapper arrested, and what was his X response?

The following article contains references to physical and sexual abuse. Please read with caution.

Houston rapper Lee Carter, who performs as Viper, was arrested in early Jan. 4, 2024, and accused of aggravated kidnapping when a woman escaped from the garage of his home months earlier. Viper was released on bond and wasted no time updating his fans on X.

In April 2023, an unnamed woman gained access to Carter’s computer and contacted the police, telling them she was held against her will inside the cloud rapper’s home. When the authorities arrived at Viper’s residence, they forcibly opened the locked garage door and found a malnourished 30-year-old woman living in squalid conditions.

The woman told the police she met Carter five years earlier when she was an unhoused individual living on the street. Carter offered her help, and when she agreed, he took her to his house and locked her up. She said she had been held captive since then. In the meantime, the woman alleged Carter physically and sexually abused her and forced her to take drugs while she was his prisoner.

Carter’s neighbors told the police they thought the musician owned other homes where he kept abducted women and that two other women lived inside the home where the abused woman was rescued, WPDE.com reported. The woman in the case had been taken to the hospital before but didn’t report her abduction. She returned to Carter after her release.

They were in a consensual relationship, Carter’s attorney said

Carter’s attorney, George Powell, said the woman and Carter, who was 52 at the time of his arrest, were in a consensual relationship, and that Carter planned to plead not guilty at his next court appearance.

“They were actually in a relationship, and he did not kidnap anyone. The complaining witness has had some mental history issues for which my client has always supported her,” Powell said (via WPDE.com). According to Powell, Carter’s defense ” … will have ample evidence to demonstrate that … they’ve been in a relationship for years.” (via CNN).

The woman accusing Carter of kidnapping reportedly has a three-year-old child with the musician, according to CNN. Details of that child’s whereabouts were unclear when Carter was arrested.

Viper’s social media response

Once free on bond, Carter posted on X, in call caps:

“I AM INNOCENT!!! I AM OUT OF JAIL!!!
I DID NOT DO ANY OF THE ALLEGATIONS
AND I WILL BE FULLY EXONERATED
AND MY EVIDENCE
WILL PROVE MY INNOCENENCE!!! [sic]”

via @RapperViper/X

With several albums and mixtapes to his credit, Viper’s most listened-to song, “You’ll Cowards Don’t Even Smoke Crack,” has been streamed 1.6 million times on Spotify. The police said Carter was not arrested right away after the woman contacted the authorities in April 2023 because he could not be located. Viper was expected back in court in Feb. 2024.

If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.