Nick Carter Responds To Rape Allegation

After singer Melissa Schuman wrote a blog post accusing Nick Carter of assaulting her in 2002, Carter responded to the rape allegation. "I am shocked and saddened by Ms. Schuman’s accusations," the Backstreet Boy said in a statement to Vulture.

Schuman, a former member of the pop group Dream, alleged that Carter forced her to have sex when she was 18 and he was 22. In her blog post, she claimed she went over to Carter's apartment with a friend and they began kissing in the bathroom. "He then pick[ed] me up, put me on the bathroom counter and started to unbutton my pants. I told him I didn’t want to go any further," she wrote. "He didn’t listen."

She claimed he performed oral sex on her as she asked him to stop, and then demanded she do the same. Then, she alleged, he penetrated her after she repeated that she didn't want to have sex. "He was relentless, refusing to take my no’s for an answer," Schuman wrote. "He was heavy, too heavy to get out from under him."

Carter denied all of Schuman's accusations in his statement. "Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual," he said. "We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally. This is the first that I am hearing about these accusations, nearly two decades later. It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm."

Schuman said that she chose to speak out after seeing a report on Radar.com that Carter was investigated for sexually assaulting a 20-year-old fan in 2006. The woman also alleged Carter forced her to perform oral sex, and Radar reports a Wisconsin police department opened an investigation, but Carter wasn't charged with a crime. A representative for Carter told Radar the singer had no physical contact with the 20-year-old, adding: "The woman fabricated the claims against Nick for one simple reason — she was hoping to extort money from him."

Schuman wrote that she empathised with Carter's other accuser, and now felt an obligation to come forward "with the hope and intention to inspire and encourage other victims to tell their story." She added, "We are stronger in numbers."

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