The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four alleged victims
Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter is being sued by a fan who claims the singer raped her on his tour bus following a concert in Washington in 2001, when she was 17.
In a civil lawsuit filed in Nevada court on Thursday, Shannon “Shay” Ruth says Carter picked her from a group of women seeking autographs after a concert in Tacoma and led her onto his tour bus.
There, her claim alleges, Carter gave her an alcoholic beverage called “VIP juice” and repeatedly assaulted her.
The claimant, now 39, has reportedly waited more than 20 years to make the allegations because she was afraid of retaliation.
Ruth’s lawyers wrote in the complaint, obtained by Billboard: “He told (the) plaintiff she would go to jail if she told anyone what happened between them.
“He said that he was Nick Carter, and that he had the power to do that. Due to his various threats, plaintiff did not report Carter’s crimes for many years.”
According to the lawsuit the alleged assault left Ruth infected with the sexually-transmitted infection human papillomavirus, or HPV.
The lawsuit was also filed on behalf of three other unnamed “Jane Doe” accusers who allegedly experienced similar attacks by Carter from 2003 to 2006, Billboard noted.
Carter’s attorney Michael Holtz categorically denied the allegations when approached by Billboard.
“This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue,” Holtz said. “Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick – and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time. No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer – there is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize.”
The allegations are not the first against Carter.
In 2017, Melissa Schuman, a former member of teen-pop group Dream, publicly accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2003 when she was 18. Cartner denied the allegations and after an investigation no charges were filed against the performer on the grounds that the 10-year statute of limitations had expired.
Billboard noted that the new lawsuit contains disturbing details of the alleged sexual assault.
It alleges Carter demanded Ruth perform oral sex on him: “Alone and under duress, Plaintiff reluctantly complied with his demand. Plaintiff cried during the ordeal.”
Afterward, the claim alleges, Carter took Ruth to another room on the bus where he “pushed plaintiff down onto the bed and proceeded to mount her” despite her begging “him to stop”.
After the attack, Ruth claims Carter called her a “retarded little bitch” and said that nobody would believe her story.
Ruth has autism and cerebral palsy, according to the complaint.
Read the Billboard report here.
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