Warning: This story contains references to rape and sexual assault. Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter faces rape charges. In a sexual assault lawsuit filed Dec. 8, Shannon Ruth claims Carter sexually assaulted her on his tour bus after a Backstreet Boys concert in 2001, when she Only 17 years old. Carter, now 42, would have been 21 at the time.
In court documents obtained by Rolling Stone , Ruth, 39, claims that after the concert, while she was waiting in line for autographs, Carter invited her onto his bus and asked her if she wanted a drink. Ruth said she drank what he called "VIP juice" and suspected the drink contained alcohol. She claimed Carter then took her to the bathroom and asked her to perform oral sex on him, then moved to the bed, where she said Carter "pushed" her down and continued to sexually assault her while she "begged him to stop."
Carter has denied all accusations. Carter's attorney, Michael Holtz, said in a statement to Bustle, "This assertion of an incident that allegedly occurred more than 20 years ago is not only legally baseless, it is completely untrue. "Unfortunately, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false accusations against Nick for several years, and those accusations have repeatedly and materially changed over time. No one should be allowed to be orchestrated by an opportunistic attorney." Fooled by a news stunt - this assertion makes no sense and we believe the courts will soon realize this."
ABC has pulled the Backstreet Boys Christmas special "A Very Backstreet Holiday," which was scheduled to air on December 14 due to the lawsuit. Carter's BSB members Kevin Richardson, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Howie Dorough have yet to comment on the charges.
Ruth, who has autism and cerebral palsy, told a news conference with her attorneys in Los Angeles that Carter's alleged behavior had affected her more than anything in her life. "The past 21 years have been filled with pain, confusion, depression, shame and self-harm as a direct result of Nick Carter's rape of me," she said. She then accused the singer of insulting her when she told him she would report the incident. "After he raped me, I remember him calling me a 'retarded bitch' and grabbing me, leaving bruises on my arms," she claimed.
Carter faced similar accusations in 2018, when former singer Melissa Schumann filed a police report accusing him of raping her in the early 2000s, when she was 18 and he was 22. He also denied Shuman's accusations, saying their relationship was "consensual" and that he was not charged with a crime because the Los Angeles District Attorney dismissed the case after the statute of limitations expired.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit online.rainn.org .
