A woman filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter of sexually assaulting her in 2003.
Melissa Schuman, a member of the defunct pop group Dreams, claimed Carter used his fame “to gain access to, groom, manipulate, exploit, and sexually assault” her at his Santa Monica apartment when she was 18 and he was 22.
The statement of claim alleges Carter gave Schuman drug-laced alcohol and took her to a bathroom.
“Again and again, plaintiff said NO! She told him over and over that she was a virgin, that she was saving herself for her future husband, and that she did not want to have sex,” it reads. “Carter continued to force himself on her, whispering in her ear that he could be her husband. [Schuman] could not get away from him, he was too heavy.”
The two, who had the same manager, co-starred in the 2004 TV movie The Hollow.
Schuman initially made the allegation against Carter in a 2017 blog post. In a statement at the time, Carter said anything he and Schuman did together was consensual. “This is the first that I am hearing about these accusations, nearly two decades later,” he said. “It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm.”
Schuman filed a police report in early 2018 but prosecutors declined to file criminal charges because the 10-year statute of limitations had expired.
A lawyer for Carter blasted the allegations in the lawsuit as false and accused Schuman of trying to “damage, defame and extort” Carter.
In February, Carter filed a countersuit against Shannon Ruth, who accused him last year of sexual assault. He alleged Schuman and her father Jerome manipulated Ruth, whose “false allegations” have cost him millions. He is also seeking punitive damages and compensation for emotional distress.
Carter's countersuit, filed in Nevada, claimed he is the victim of a conspiracy “to harass, defame and extort” him.
In her lawsuit filed in December, Ruth alleged that Carter sexually assaulted her on his tour bus following a concert in Tacoma, Washington in 2001, when she was 17. She claimed the "I Want It That Way" singer told her that he had “the power to wreck my life” if she reported the incident.
When Ruth’s lawsuit was filed, Carter's lawyer Michael Holtz said in a statement her claims were “not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue.” He said her allegations “have changed repeatedly and materially over time.”
In his counterclaim, Carter addressed public statements made by his younger brother Aaron Carter, who called Nick "a serial rapist" in 2019. According to the lawsuit, "At the time, Aaron was addicted to drugs, battling serious mental health issues, and engaged in a misguided campaign of retaliation against Carter and other members of his family who were worried about Aaron and pushing him to seek professional help." (Aaron died last November.)
Holtz said in a statement that the singer wants to stop “the smears and attempted shakedowns for good.”
Carter has not been criminally charged and the allegations in the two lawsuits have not been tested in court.