Singer Melissa Schuman reportedly filed a lawsuit against famous singer and former Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter, accusing him of sexual assault and battery.
Schuman came forward with allegations against Carter in 2017, claiming he sexually assaulted her in Santa Monica in 2002 when she was 18-years-old, according to TMZ. Schuman alleged Carter forcibly performed oral sex on her and demanded the same act in exchange. She previously filed a police report with the intent of criminally charging Carter, but the District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute the case, according to TMZ. Carter’s legal team released a statement denying the allegations and fired back at Schuman alleging she was plotting to extort Carter.
Nick Carter is being taken to court by singer Melissa Schuman, over 5 years after she tried to have him criminally charged for allegedly sexually assaulting her. https://t.co/RF7Ts6Bg7L
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 11, 2023
Schuman filed legal documents in accordance with a new bill that temporarily amends the statute of limitations, according to TMZ. She claims Carter forcibly took her virginity in spite of knowing she was saving herself for marriage.
Carter’s attorney, Liane K. Wakayama, addressed the allegations.
“Melissa Schuman has been peddling this tale for many years, but her allegation was false when she first made it back in 2017 – and it still is,” Wakayama said to TMZ.
“A judge in Nevada recently ruled, after reviewing the extensive evidence we laid out, that there are strong grounds for Nick Carter to proceed with his lawsuit against Ms. Schuman for plotting to damage, defame and extort Nick, his associates, his friends and his family,” she said.
Carter’s legal team continued to battle Schuman’s allegations head-on, and drew on her previous failed efforts to prosecute the star in an effort to discredit her claims.
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“In light of our progress in Nevada, this kind of response is at once both predictable and pathetic,” Wakayama said.
“But this PR stunt won’t shake Nick from his determination to hold Ms. Schuman and her co-conspirators to account for the immeasurable pain and suffering their extortionate conduct has caused,” she said, according to TMZ. (RELATED: ‘I Have Visions Of Him On Top Of Me’: Paris Hilton Claims She Was Raped At Age 15)
Carter sued Schuman for $2.3 million earlier in 2023, alleging she had been attempting to extort him for several years. He is also facing allegations from a former fan named Shannon Ruth, who also accused Carter of sexually assaulting her on a tour bus.