Nick Carter has been sued by singer Melissa Schuman five years after she publicly accused him of sexual assault, an allegation he has long denied.
Schuman, 38, says Backstreet Boy, 43, forced oral sex on her in 2003 when she was 18 and he was 22, then allegedly forced her to reciprocate. He claims he took her virginity then.
LA prosecutors said that in 2018, wouldn’t press charges of sexual assault v. Carter since the statute of limitations had expired, but a recently enacted California law temporarily removed the statute of limitations for sexual assault claims to be brought in civil court.
“I had an unusual response to me standing up for myself; I’m not the primary, but my intention is to be the last,” Schuman said in an announcement to The Post on Tuesday.
“It’s time for influential figures within the music industry to get the message that they’ll now not afford to permit and protect sexual predators. I’m fighting to make the music industry a safer place to work and perform.”
Because the #MeToo movement began, Schuman detailed her accusations against Carter in Blog post from 2017 which has already been deleted.
“Nick Carter’s attack on Melissa is unbearable. He’s a coward… and dangerous.” Schuman’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, said in an announcement on Tuesday. “The Melissa case describes how powerful celebrities can use their fans as a weapon to intimidate and harass survivors of their crimes. Finally, we now have the chance to prove that these crimes have legal consequences.”
Schuman’s legal team says a pattern of “online bullying by friends, associates and/or agents of Defendant Carter” that allegedly constituted “an organized try and intimidate, blame, harass and discredit Plaintiff and her allegations of sexual assault in a court of public opinion.”
Schuman, a member of the early pop group Dream, was allegedly forced to record a “duet” with Carter that she was reportedly “offered to attain a movie.” Schuman says she recorded her a part of the “duet” independently of Carter.
“The recording was never sold,” the lawsuit states. “When the plaintiff publicly disclosed her assaults by defendant Carter, she used the song “collaboration” as “proof” that he “all the time respected and supported Melissa, each privately and professionally.” Defendant Carter used the recording to create the misunderstanding that he and the plaintiff had a friendly relationship.
Carter denied Schuman’s allegations in addition to allegations made by Shannon Ruth, who accused him of sexual harassment on a tour bus in 2001 when she was only 17 years old.
In February’s counterclaim to Ruth’s lawsuit filed in Nevada, Carter claimed to be a victim of extortion, defamation and harassment by Ruth and Schuman.
“Melissa Schuman has been spreading this story for a few years, but her allegation was false when she first did so in 2017 – and still is,” Carter’s lawyer Liane Wakayama said in an announcement to The Post on Tuesday.
“A judge in Nevada recently ruled, after reviewing the extensive evidence we’ve presented, that there are strong grounds for Nick Carter to file suit against Ms. Schuman for conspiracy to harm, defame and extort Nick, his associates, friends and his family.”
The statement continued: “In light of our progress in Nevada, this sort of response is each predictable and pathetic. But this PR stunt won’t shake Nick from his determination to carry Ms Schuman and her co-conspirators accountable for the immeasurable pain and suffering their coerced behavior has caused them.”