Sexual Assault on Teenage Disabled Female Fan at 2001 Concert
Carter's Lawyer: "Not True... False Claims for Years"
Nick Carter, a member of the Backstreet Boys, was accused of sexual assault 21 years ago. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Nick Carter (42), a member of the American five-member boy group 'Backstreet Boys,' which gained great popularity in the late 1990s to early 2000s, has been sued for sexually assaulting a disabled female fan who was a teenager 21 years ago.
According to CNN and other media on the 9th (local time), Shannon Roos (39, female) filed a lawsuit for damages at the Clark County Court in Nevada, USA, claiming that she was sexually assaulted by Nick Carter in 2001 when she was 17 years old. Roos, who has autism and cerebral palsy, alleged that after a Backstreet Boys concert held in Tacoma, Washington, she was taken to the group's tour bus and sexually assaulted.
Roos held a press conference in Beverly Hills, LA, confessing, "The past 21 years since being raped by Nick Carter have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame, and self-harm." She added, "Although I have autism and cerebral palsy, nothing has affected my life as much as what Carter said to me," and revealed, "After raping me, he cursed and grabbed me, bruising my arm."
Regarding why she filed the lawsuit after more than 20 years, Roos said, "I hesitated because I was threatened that if I told someone about this, I could go to jail," but added, "Now that I know he did not only do this to me, I am filing the lawsuit to stop him from assaulting more teenagers and women." She raised her voice, saying, "Being a celebrity should not allow someone to commit crimes and escape punishment."
Meanwhile, Roos's lawyer claimed, "Carter has a long history of abusing women, and the music industry has ignored it," and stated, "There are three more victims of sexual assault besides Roos." Nick Carter was also sued in 2017 for sexually assaulting Melissa Schuman, a member of the girl group 'Dream.' At that time, Schuman revealed, "I was raped in 2003 when I was 18 and Carter was 22," but Carter denied it, saying, "It was consensual." Schuman reported the assault to her manager immediately, but was told by the manager that Carter's legal team was too strong and that publicly accusing him would harm her career, so the case was covered up. The case went through prosecution review but was eventually dismissed due to the statute of limitations.
Carter's side denies all the allegations made by Roos. Carter's lawyer said, "Unfortunately, Roos has been manipulated to make false claims against Carter for several years," and added, "Do not be deceived by the media play orchestrated by her lawyer."
Carter married fitness trainer Lauren Kitt in 2014 and has three children. He also suffered the pain of losing his younger brother, singer and rapper Aaron Carter (35), who passed away on the 6th of last month.
Meanwhile, the American ABC network had planned to air a Christmas special featuring Carter and other Backstreet Boys members on the 14th, but canceled the broadcast after Carter's lawsuit became public.
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