Nick Carter, a member of the Backstreet Boys, has obtained a favorable decision in one of two civil claims brought against him in Nevada by women who claim he sexually assaulted them in 2003 on a boat off Florida and on his tour bus in Washington state, respectively.
The first case was filed last December by a Nevada woman, now 40, who claims that Carter attacked her on his tour bus following a concert in Tacoma, Washington, when she was 17 years old. A state court judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a countersuit that Carter and his attorneys brought alleging defamation by three people in the first case.
The other Florida-related case was presented in Clark County District Court on Monday.
Las Vegas is where Carter, now 43, resides. He has refuted the two women’s claims that he sexually assaulted them and caused them severe pain. Each woman asks for undefined financial compensation of at least $30,000.
Carter was in court Wednesday with his attorney when Clark County District Court Judge Nancy Allf denied to dismiss his lawsuit alleging three people of defamation, conspiracy, and abuse of process, including a third woman who said he assaulted her in 2003.
Following the judge’s ruling, Melissa Schuman and her father, Jerome Schuman, will have to respond to Carter’s accusations that they ran a campaign to capitalize on his notoriety. More than $2.3 million in damages are being sought by Carter.
A statement states that Melissa and Jerome Schuman have been working together for years to fabricate accusations against Nick Carter in an outright effort to profit from him.
In 2018, Schuman tried unsuccessfully to have Carter charged with a crime in California after she claimed that Carter had coerced her into having sex in his condominium in the Los Angeles region.
Nick Carter refuted the claims
Nick Carter has refuted Schulman’s claims that he sexually assaulted her. During the court hearing on Wednesday, he remained silent.
The Schumans’ legal representative, Alan Greenberg, said in court that Nick Carter was a well-known figure, the accusations against him were true, and Melissa Schuman had reported her sexual assault to two friends and a therapist in 2003.
Although Schuman has publicly discussed her experience and given her permission for the use of her name, the Associated Press typically does not name persons who allege they were sexually attacked.
Carter’s legal team maintains that the Schumans did not come forward with their accusations until late 2017, after a significant social movement spurred by the hashtag #MeToo started to make previously unreported instances of sexual assault public.
Additionally, they claim that the Schumans “recruited” the Florida accuser of Carter’s sexual assault.
In court filings, the plaintiff, who resides in York County, Pennsylvania, requests that her name only be used as her initials. She claims that in 2003, when she was 15 and they met in Marathon, Florida, Carter sexually assaulted her on his yacht.
Attorney Margaret Mabie, who practices in New York, claimed that this case serves as an example of the length of time, fortitude, and tenacity required by victims and survivors to come out about child sexual assault and pursue redress.
She continued by saying that despite countless accusations about Carter’s prior behavior toward young women, his victims still find it difficult to hold him accountable in public for the harms he caused them.
The Backstreet Boys were established in 1993 and are best known for their hits “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” “I Want It That Way,” and “As Long as You Love Me.”
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