A few years after initial accusations of rape, the singer of the group Backstreet Boys, Nick Carter, is sued for an alleged rape.
American singer Melissa Schuman, who publicly said she was raped by the singer in 2003, filed charges on Tuesday, according to information from
Rolling Stone
relayed by BFMTV.
Nick Carter claims his innocence.
The singer allegedly took advantage of
"his role, his status and his power as a famous singer to manipulate, exploit and sexually assault"
Melissa Schuman, says the complaint, seen by
Rolling Stone
.
The same woman had already accused the singer of rape in November 2017. According to her, Nick Carter would have insisted on coming to her apartment in Santa Monica, California, before “taking her virginity”.
“He was relentless, refusing to take my name for an answer (…) He was heavy, too heavy to get out from under him.
Then I felt it, it put something in me
,” she explained in a blog post.
Other charges
“It's time for power figures in the music industry to realize that they can no longer afford to allow and protect sexual predators.
I fight to make the music industry a safer place
,” Melissa Schuman said in a statement posted on her Twitter account.
The singer has been denying these accusations since 2017.
"It's against my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause discomfort or harm to someone
," he explained.
For her part, Liane K. Wakayama, her lawyer, suggested in
Rolling Stone
that Melissa Schuman would be a liar:
“Melissa Schuman has been peddling this story for many years, but her allegation was false when she made it for the first time in 2017 - and still is."
She also accuses the complainant of
"conspiring to damage, defame (...) Nick, his associates, his friends and his family"
.
This trial comes a few months after the filing of another complaint for sexual violence against the singer.
Shannon Ruth also accused him last December of raping her when she was 17.
According to the young woman's lawyer, the complaint includes the statements of three other women, who also accuse the singer of having sexually assaulted them.
The latter had wished to remain anonymous and had not filed a complaint individually.