Nick Carter denies accusation he raped autistic teenage fan

The Backstreet Boys member has hit back at a claim he raped a 17-year-old fan, as three more women come forward with other allegations.

Nick Carter has been accused of raping an underage fan in 2001. Picture: Supplied

US singer Nick Carter has been sued by a woman who has accused the star of raping her back in 2001 when she was just 17 years old.

Shannon “Shay” Ruth alleged during a press conference with her lawyers on Thursday, which was streamed on Facebook, that the Backstreet Boys member sexually assaulted her while the band was on tour in Tacoma, Washington, US, Page Six reports.

Carter is denying the bombshell claims, releasing a statement though his lawyer today.

“This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue,” Carter’s lawyer Michael Holtz said in a statement obtained by Page Six.

“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 realise.”

Bringing the civil lawsuit for sexual battery against the musician, the now-39-year-old Ms Ruth described the intervening years as being “filled with pain”.

“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,” Ms Ruth alleged.

“Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe that nothing has affected me more or had a more lasting impact on my life than what Nick Carter did and said to me,” she said.

Nick Carter in 2001. Picture: by James Devaney/WireImage/Getty Images

Shannon Ruth has sued Nick Carter for sexual battery. Picture: Facebook

“After he raped me, I remember him calling me a ‘ret**ded b**ch’ and grabbing me and leaving bruises on my arm,” Ms Ruth further alleged.

“Carter tried to scare me into silence … he was nasty and threatening,” she claimed.

During the press conference, Ms Ruth said she had been hesitant to speak out because she believed that she could “go to jail” if she told anyone what allegedly occurred.

However, amid her allegations against the star, she said her motivation now was to “stop” Nick Carter from “assaulting more teens and women” and “hold Nick Carter accountable”.

“Just because Nick Carter is a celebrity does not mean that he is excused,” she said. “I am a survivor and always will be.”

Lawyer Mark J. Boskovich also took the podium during the press conference to support his client. He said three other women – identified only as Jane Doe – are named in a joint lawsuit filed alongside Ms Ruth.

The lawyer alleged the music industry has a history of “looking away”.

“Shay is determined to bring Carter to justice,” Mr Boskovich said. “She believes it’s worth it to protect other women.”

Nick Carter. Picture: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

In the lawsuit filed on Thursday and obtained by Page Six, the alleged victim detailed that she was invited to the singer’s tour bus following a concert she attended in Tacoma, Washington, after standing in line at an autograph line.

Ms Ruth alleged Carter then offered her a “red-coloured drink” he dubbed a “VIP juice” – even though she was under the legal drinking age – and claimed she now thinks it was a mix of alcohol and cranberry juice.

In the filing, she alleged Carter then ordered her to perform oral sex on him as she burst into tears.

Ms Ruth alleged Carter then took her to a bed on the tour bus, where he allegedly continued to sexually assault her, even though she was a virgin at the time.

The singer is now 42. Picture: Scott Legato/Getty Images

The alleged victim claimed per the lawsuit that she got HPV, a sexually transmitted infection, after the incident. She is seeking monetary damages in the lawsuit.

Representatives for Carter, 42, did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.

This is not the first time the boy band member has been accused of sexual misconduct.

In 2017, former Dream member Melissa Schuman claimed Carter sexually assaulted her when she was 18 years old and he was 22.

“I told him that I was a virgin and I didn’t want to have sex,” Schuman alleged in a blog post at the time. “I told him that I was saving myself for my future husband. I said it over and over again. He whispered in my ear as to entice me, ‘I could be your husband,’” she alleged.

Nick Carter’s brother, Aaron, tragically died last month. Picture: Chris Delmas/AFP

Carter previously said in response, “Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual. We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally.”

Carter was not criminally charged.

The latest assault claims made against the singer come just weeks after the tragic loss of his younger brother Aaron Carter, who died on November 5.

This article originally appeared on Page Six and has been reproduced here with permission