Nick Carter accused of sexual assault in new lawsuit filed by singer Melissa Schuman
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA: ‘Backstreet Boys’ singer Nick Carter is in trouble again as singer Melissa Schuman has filed a new lawsuit against him for sexual violence and assault in relation to an incident that happened in Santa Monica, California, in 2002. According to court documents, Schuman, 38, accused the performer, 43, of making her perform oral sex when she was 18 and he was 22.
The latest legal allegations against the ‘Backstreet Boys’ crooner comes more than five years after Schuman’s first filing of a police report at the Santa Monica Police Department against Carter. However, the authorities did not proceed with the case at that time. Hoping to have a judge assess the evidence in the case, Schuman invoked a recent California law that permits the lifting of the statute of limitations for civil cases when she filed the new lawsuit.
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As per TMZ, which obtained a copy of the lawsuit, Dream member Schuman always wanted to have her first sexual experience after she got married. However, despite her repeated pleas, Carter did not heed her and she had her first sexual experience with the boy band member. Carter denied all charges brought against him by Schuman.
What did Nick Carter's lawyer say?
Schuman was named by Carter in a $2.3M lawsuit against Shannon Ruth. Carter said in his lawsuit that Schuman helped Ruth in an extortion effort that cost him millions of dollars in lost wages, per the Daily Mail.
Carter's lawyer, Liane K Wakayama, told TMZ, “Melissa Schuman has been peddling this tale for many years, but her allegation was false when she first made it back in 2017 - and it still is,” before adding that, “A judge in Nevada recently ruled, after reviewing the extensive evidence we laid out, that there are strong grounds for Nick Carter to proceed with his lawsuit against Ms. Schuman for plotting to damage, defame and extort Nick, his associates, his friends and his family.”
Calling the accusations “at once both predictable and pathetic,” the lawyer called the filing a “PR stunt”. She added that this would not divert her client “from his determination to hold Ms. Schuman and her co-conspirators to account for the immeasurable pain and suffering their extortionate conduct has caused.”
Who is Shannon Ruth?
In December, 2022, Ruth filed a lawsuit in which she alleged that Carter sexually assaulted her in February 2001 when she was 17. The singer denied the charges. His attorney, Michael Holtz, told Entertainment Tonight then, "This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue," adding, "Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. [Shannon] Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick -- and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time. No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer -- there is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize."