Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter is being sued for sexual battery of a minor in an incident that happened in 2001.
The alleged victim is 39-year-old Shannon Ruth, who was 17 when the incident allegedly happened.
Ruth claims that during a Backstreet Boys tour stop in Tacoma, Washington, she was invited by Carter onto the band’s tour bus.
According to the civil complaint that she filed, when offered a drink, Ruth asked for apple juice, but was offered a red-coloured drink which Carter said was “cranberry.”
In the documents, Ruth claims that Carter forced her to perform oral sex on him and then raped her. She also claims that she was a virgin before the incident and the singer infected her with human papillomavirus.
She adds that after the incident, she threatened to tell people but Carter said nobody would believe a “r******* little bitch” like her.
“The last 21 years have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame, and self-harm that are a direct result of Nick Carter raping me,” Ruth said as she shared her story through tears during a news conference.
“After he raped me, I remember him calling me a ‘retarded bitch’ and grabbing me and leaving bruises on my arm,” she said. “I’d also like to say that Carter tried to scare me into silence by saying no one would believe me if I told what happened.
“He was nasty and threatening, saying I would go to jail if I told,” Ruth continued. “He also said he would turn people against me because he was Nick Carter and he had the power to wreck my life.”
In a statement to TMZ, Carter’s lawyer Michael Holtz described the allegations as opportunist.
He 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.”
