Nick Carter is facing a new trial that claims he raped and physically assaulted a 17-year-old woman on a Backstreet Boys tour bus in 2001.
A civil lawsuit filed Thursday in Clark County, Nevada, alleges Carter raped Shannon “Shay” Ruth, along with 3 other women known only as Jane Does. Ruth receives damages, either punitive and to cover mandatory medical expenses as a result of the alleged rape. .
“The last 21 years have been one of pain, confusion, frustration, shame and self-harm that are the direct result of Nick Carter’s rape,” Ruth, now 39, said tearfully at a news conference Thursday.
“Even though I’m autistic and living with cerebral palsy, nothing affects me anymore,” he said. “My motivation for filing this complaint today is to prevent Nick Carter from assaulting more teens and women. “
USA TODAY reached out to Carter’s representative and Ruth’s attorneys for comment.
Attorney Mark Boskovich said Ruth attended a Backstreet Boys concert in Tacoma, Washington, in February 2001. She met Carter after the show at an autograph line, and the singer invited her to the band’s tour bus.
“He gave her a strange-tasting drink he called ‘VIP juice,'” Boskovich said, adding that Ruth drank the drink before Carter took her to the bathroom and forced her to have oral sex while crying. Later, the attorney said, Carter took Ruth to a bed in the back of the bus where he raped her, despite pleas to stop him.
“Every time Shay said no and tried to get away from Carter, he would grab her and push her back to that bed,” Boskovich added.
Ruth said she would tell other people what had happened, but Carter allegedly grabbed her and hurt her arm, insulted her and said no one would do it, Boskovich said. The lawsuit also alleges that Carter inflamed Ruth and the other 3 women with HPV.
“All the stories of those women are remarkably similar. They were all virgins when they were sexually assaulted by Carter, and they were all inflamed with HPV,” Boskovych said, asking other victims or those with anti-Carter evidence to come forward. .
“No celebrity is above the law,” Ruth said. “Carter took away my formative years and my innocence, but he can’t and won’t take away my strength and my truth. “
More: Nick Carter Investigation for Sexual Misconduct Through Santa Monica Police
This is the first time Carter has faced such accusations. In 2018, the Santa Monica Police Department showed it had opened an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by the singer in 2003.
Actress and singer Melissa Schuman, in a 2017 blog post titled “Don’t worry, I probably wouldn’t tell anyone,” said Carter sexually assaulted her some time after the two were cast in a TV movie, 2004 The Hollow. 18; He was 22 years old.
Carter in the past denied the allegation, adding that he believed their interactions were consensual.
“I am shocked and saddened by Ms. Schuman’s allegations,” the singer said at the time. “Melissa never spoke to me while we were together or at any time, because not everything we did was consensual. We continue to record a song and game in combination, and at all times I have been respectful and supportive of Melissa, both personally and professionally.
The retrial comes just over a month after Carter’s younger brother, Aaron, was found dead at age 34 at his California home. Nick Carter shared a tribute to his brother, against whom he filed a ban order in 2019.
“My center was damaged today. Although my brother and I had a confusing relationship, my love for him never faded,” she wrote.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN provides help through the National Sexual Assault Helpline (800. 656. HOPE).
If you or know you have suicidal thoughts, you can call the U. S. National Suicide Prevention Hotline. UU. al 800-273-TALK (8255) at any time of the day or night, or chat online.
Crisis Text Line also provides free confidential SMS assistance 24/7 to others in crisis when they call the 741741.
Contributor: Erin Jensen