Nick Carter Is Now Suing Sexual Assault Accusers
Nick Carter is now countersuing his sexual assault accusers for $2.35 million in damages.
Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys is now going to fight back in court, as the singer is countersuing two of his accusers for their claims that he sexually assaulted them in the early 2000s. According to the lawsuit, Carter’s lawyers have stated, “The campaign was launched and bolstered by the #MeToo movement, beginning at its dawn, when Counter-Defendant Melissa Schuman posted a salacious blog entry in November 2017, falsely asserting that she had been sexually assaulted by Carter in 2003.” Carter is seeking $2.35 million in damages against Melissa Schuman and Shannon Ruth, both of who have accused the singer of sexual assault.
Nick Carter’s counsel has also stated that Melissa Shuman and her father, Jerome Shuman, were responsible for grooming Shannon Ruth and convincing her to “inflate her initial claim of being abused at the hands of a third party.” The entire ordeal brought forth by Carter’s counsel has also accused Jerome and Melissa of harassing and attempting to extort money from Carter for a five-year period, which has cost him and the Backstreet Boys millions of dollars.
Nick Carter has been accused of sexually assaulting Shannon Ruth in 2001. She filed the lawsuit in December of 2022 and states that she was asked to go on the tour bus of the Backstreet Boys. While on the bus, she alleges that Carter gave her alcohol before sexually assaulting her in the bus’s bathroom. The result was that Ruth had contracted HPV from being assaulted.
Melissa Shuman of the pop group, Dream, also stated that Nick Carter allegedly assaulted her in 2003. She filed her lawsuit in 2018, but the court determined that the lawsuit would not go forward, as the statute of limitations to report the assault expired in 2013. In California law, a crime must be reported within 10 years of it happening, or the statute of limitations will pass.
However, Shuman is banding together with Shannon Ruth, as Ruth’s lawyer has stated that, “Why should Nick Carter be believed with his long history of abusing females? A jury will weigh the evidence and decide.” The history of his abuse in question is both Shannon Ruth’s and Melissa Shuman’s allegations.
The Backstreet Boys were set to air a holiday special on ABC last year called, A Very Backstreet Holiday, but these new allegations forced the network to pull the program. We would imagine that the group lost out on a ton of money for that, which is why Nick Cartner is now countersuing his accusers. Carter’s claim that both women are in a conspiracy to extort him is certainly going to make this case go on for quite some time.
There is no date given on the lawsuit, but we would imagine that Nick Carter and his legal counsel will want to get the ball rolling on this countersuit quite soon. There is also no given court date for either lawsuit, but more information is likely to be revealed about that soon. For now, everyone can wait and see what is to come of both lawsuits.
What we do know is that Shannon Ruth filed her sexual assault lawsuit in Clark County, Nevada, in December. We are not sure how long it may take for Nick Carter to see his day in court, but we will certainly keep everyone up to date about these horrible allegations and what is to come of them.
