A woman has filed a lawsuit against Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter claiming that he raped her in 2001.
39-year-old Shannon Ruth, who was 17 at the time of the alleged incident, claims Carter forced her to perform oral sex on him and raped her.
She also alleges that he had given her an alcoholic drink prior to the assault, and left her with a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Source: Backstreet Boys on Facebook
Ruth is now demanding unspecified damages from the 42-year-old singer.
At a press conference yesterday (8 Dec), Ruth said she was waiting in line for an autograph after a Backstreet Boys concert in Washington.
According to TMZ, Carter then invited her onto the band’s tour bus.
Although she initially asked for apple juice, the singer ended up giving her what he called ‘VIP Juice’.
Ruth believes that it contained a mix of alcohol and cranberry juice.
Following that, he took her to the bathroom in the bus and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
During the alleged assault, Ruth claims that she was crying but Carter continued to instruct her.
Afterwards, he brought her to a bed on the tour bus and proceeded to rape her.
The victim, who claims she was a virgin prior to the incident, ended up contracting a human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
She also says she told Carter she would let others know what he did, but he allegedly called her a “ret*rded little b*tch” whom no one would believe.
According to Ruth’s attorney Mark Boskovich, who was by her side during the press conference, their investigations led them to three other alleged victims, who also accused Carter of sexually assaulting and infected them with HPV.
As a result, he hopes they will publicly come forward and stand with Ruth.
During the press conference, Ruth also revealed that she is on the autism spectrum and has mild cerebral palsy.
Despite living with these challenges, she claims that nothing has had a more “lasting impact” on her than what Carter did and said to her.
“Carter took away my childhood and my innocence, but he cannot and will not take away my strength or my truth,” she declared.
Carter’s attorney Michael Holtz has since issued a statement in response to the allegations, calling them “legally meritless” and “entirely untrue”.
He said that Ruth had been “manipulated into making false allegations” for several years, and that those allegations have changed “repeatedly and materially” over time.
Holtz also labelled the accusations “a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer”.
At the same time, TMZ quoted an unverified source claiming to be close to the singer as saying that the accusation is “categorically false”.
The source also said that Carter is currently focusing on his family and mourning his brother Aaron, who passed in November.
Source: Backstreet Boys on Facebook
Back in 2018, Carter was also accused of rape by Melissa Schuman, a member of now defunct girl group Dream.
According to CNN, all charges against him were dropped back then as the statute of limitations had expired.
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Featured image adapted from Backstreet Boys on Facebook.
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