Google News "Backstreet Boy" Singer Nick Carter Accused of S*xual Harassment and Assault
by FARUK IMAMOVIC | VIEW 1023
Melissa Schuman, an American singer, is taking legal action against Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, alleging sexual harassment and assault.
Revived Legal Claims
According to court documents obtained by TMZ on Tuesday, Schuman claims that in 2003, Carter performed oral sex on her against her will, and then continued to engage in sexual harassment and the deprivation of her virginity.
Schuman previously reported Carter for rape that occurred in November 2017, but the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute due to the statute of limitations. However, a California law that went into effect earlier this year has revived sexual assault lawsuits and extended the deadline for filing them.
In the complaint, Carter is accused of using a song to "generate the false impression that he and Plaintiff had a friendly relationship."
Denials and Counterclaims
Carter denies the allegations and in a 2017 statement said, “It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm”.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Carter's attorney Liane K. Wakayama accused Schuman of "plotting to damage, defame and extort Nick, his associates, his friends, and his family." Not only has Nick Carter repeatedly denied Schuman's allegations of non-consensual sex, but in February, he also filed a counterclaim against her and Shannon Ruth, who in December 2022 sued him for raping her on a tour bus in 2001 when she was 17 years old.
The Impact of Trauma
"The effects are tremendous," Schuman told The Daily Beast in 2018. "It's not just the assault. It affects the rest of your life. It's still affecting my life... The one thing that I have, is I have my voice back.
And that means more to me than anything else, is that I am empowered, and I'm not shutting up, and I'm not going away. I'm not scared anymore." The legal case against Nick Carter continues, with the singer denying the allegations and counterclaiming against Schuman and Ruth.
