Backstreet Boys Singer Nick Carter Sued for Alleged Rape of Minor With Autism and Cerebral Palsy, Infecting Teen With HPV
Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter has been sued for allegedly raping a minor with autism and cerebral palsy on a bus during the boy band's concert tour in 2001.
According to court records acquired by TMZ, Shannon Ruth, who claimed she was 17 during the alleged rape incident, was invited by Carter to his tour bus after a Backstreet Boys concert in Tacoma, Washington, while she was waiting in line to get an autograph.
The documents noted that Ruth, who has autism and cerebral palsy, requested apple juice after she was asked if she wanted something to drink. Carter then allegedly gave her a "red-colored drink" after telling her he had cranberry juice.
Ruth said the drink did not taste right, and Carter said it was "VIP juice," so she drank it, trying not to be rude, but she thought it was a mix of alcohol and cranberry juice.
Carter allegedly brought her to the bus' restroom and demanded oral sex on him. Ruth claimed she was crying, but Carter kept telling her what to do. She said Carter then took her to a bed on the bus and continued to sexually assault her while begging him to stop.
After the incident, she noted that she would tell people what he had done, but Cartel allegedly said she was a "r******* little bitch," and no one would believe her.
According to Ruth, she was a virgin before the alleged sexual assault and contracted HPV afterward, so she is now seeking compensatory and punitive monetary damages.
In a press conference Thursday at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, Ruth, now 39, characterized the alleged assault as rape. She also identified herself as a rape survivor, the Los Angeles Times reported.
She told reporters that even though she's autistic and lives with cerebral palsy, she believes that nothing had a "more lasting impact" on her life than the alleged assault.
"I felt like I had nowhere to turn, no way to express my emotions, pain, and confusion except by hurting myself. And I truly believed that if I told anyone, I would go to jail," said Ruth, who filed the sexual battery lawsuit in Clark County, Nevada.
A source close to Nick Carter told TMZ: "This accusation is categorically false, Nick is focusing on his family and mourning the death of his brother."
Backstreet Boys Singer Nick Carter's Another Alleged Rape Victim
Melissa Schuman, a former singer of the teen pop group Dream, also accused Nick Carter of raping her in 2003 when she was 18.
Schuman, who stepped forward in 2017, said Carter invited her and a friend to his Santa Monica apartment around the time they were filming the 2004 TV film "The Hollow."
The singer noted that after some boozing, Carter started making out with her and took her to a bathroom, where he performed oral sex on her.
Despite telling him to stop, she noted that Carter took her to a bedroom and then forced her to have intercourse. Schuman said she also was a virgin at the time.
After investigating Schuman's claim, Los Angeles County prosecutors declined to file a case because the allegation was beyond the 10-year statute of limitations.
According to Rolling Stone, the lawsuit filed Thursday also alleged that three women, identified only as Jane Does, accused Carter of similar behavior.
It noted that Jane Doe 1 similarly alleged sexual abuse in 2003, while Jane Doe 2, a 15-year-old girl at the time of her alleged abuse in 2003, said she contracted HPV from Carter, an allegation similar to Shannon Ruth.
On the other hand, Jane Doe 3 claimed she was sexually assaulted by Nick Carter at a house party in Key West, Florida, in 2006.
During the press conference, Ruth's lawyer Mark Boskovich said the lawsuit is withholding the three women's names "to preserve their privacy" until they are ready to speak. He said his team had already interviewed the women.
Backstreet Boys Singer Nick Carter Reacts to Shannon Ruth's Rape Allegations
Nick Carter has denied the allegations that he sexually assaulted a minor admirer in 2001. In a statement obtained by Page Six, Carter's attorney, Michael Holtz, said the "incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue."
"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," Holtz noted.
He added that there was nothing to this claim, "which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize."
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Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: Nick Carter Accused of Sexually Assaulting a Minor in 2001 - From ABC News