Nick Carter, 43, faces fresh allegations of sexual assault and battery from singer Melissa Schuman, 38, in a new civil lawsuit over a 2003 incident which allegedly took place in Santa Monica, California.
Formerly a member of the 2000s girl group Dream, Melissa who previously came forward in 2017, detailed how Carter allegedly forced himself upon her at his Santa Monica apartment and took her virginity.
The civil lawsuit, filed on Tuesday at the Los Angeles Supreme Court, claims Carter used his status and platform as an “international multi platinum recording pop star” to “groom, manipulate, exploit, and sexually assault” Melissa.
This is the second lawsuit filed against Carter in recent months, with another woman, Shannon ‘Shay’ Ruth, alleging the singer assaulted her when she was 17 on the Backstreet Boys’ tour bus during the band’s 2001 Black & Blue tour.
Schuman alleges Carter assaulted her at his Santa Monica apartment in 2003 while they were working as co-stars in the teen horror film The Hollow.
According to the lawsuit, while filming, Carter invited her over to his apartment, with the duo joined by a male friend of the singer and a female friend of her own.
Carter then reportedly gave Schuman alcohol and put a drug “like flunitrazepam” into her drink before showing her various rooms in the apartment.
He allegedly forced himself on her and performed sexual acts, including vaginal penetration, without her consent, in addition to forcing her to perform acts on him under fear of physical harm.
Express.co.uk has contacted Nick Carter’s representatives for comment.
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In a statement, Carter’s lawyer, Liane K. Wakayama, has denied the fresh allegations, branding them a “tale” trying to “defame” the Backstreet Boys member.
The statement, obtained by Rolling Stone reads: “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.”
She then accused Schuman of “plotting to damage, defame and extort Nick, his associates, his friends and his family”.
Wakayama continued: “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.”
Schuman first came forward with these allegations in 2017 in a now-deleted blog post, claiming she was raped by the singer in 2003.
Carter denied the allegations at the time, providing a statement to CNN which read: “Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual.
“We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally.”
In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors did not pursue any sexual assault charges against Carter as the statute of limitations had expired.
However, a recently passed California law temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for sexual assault claims to be brought in civil court.
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