'scared into silence'
Nick Carter accused of raping underage autistic fan with cerebral palsy and leaving bruises on her body
NICK Carter has been accused of raping an underage autistic fan with cerebral palsy in 2001.
The 39-year-old claims the Backstreet Boys star, 42, left bruises on her body during the incident on his tour bus when she was a teen.
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Carter is being sued by Shannon 'Shay' Ruth for sexual battery, according to court documents obtained by .
Ruth, joined by her attorneys, tearfully held a press conference this week and claimed Carter, then 20, sexually assaulted her on his bus when she was 17.
“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,” Ruth alleged.
She continued: “Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe that nothing has affected me more than what Nick Carter did and said to me.
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"Carter tried to scare me into silence… he was nasty and threatening."
She also claimed the star left "bruises on my arm".
Wiping away tears, she added: "I felt like I had nowhere to turn, no way to express my emotion. And I truly believe that if I'd told anyone I'd go to jail.
"I struggled with blaming myself because I got on the bus with Nick.
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"My motivation with coming forward and filing this lawsuit is to stop Nick Carter from assaulting more teens and women."
She said she "knows" other women have similar stories and her hope is to "hold Nick Carter accountable".
Ruth's attorney also spoke to support his client and claimed there are three other women involved - identified only as Jane Doe.
'MERITLESS'
Carter's attorney Michael Holtz said in a statement: “This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue.
"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 realize.”
Carter has not made a public statement at this time.
'VIP JUICE'
According to the court documents, Ruth claims she was invited by Carter onto his tour bus after a concert in Tacoma, Washington, while waiting in line for an autograph.
The papers state Ruth was asked if she wanted a drink by Carter. She asked for apple juice and he allegedly told her he had cranberry juice - giving her a "red-colored drink".
Ruth said the drink, which Carter is said to have called "VIP juice", tasted wrong but she drank it even though she was underage and didn't want to.
She now believes it was a mix of alcohol and cranberry juice.
Carter, she claimed, then took her to the bus' bathroom and ordered her to perform oral sex on him.
She claimed she was crying during the ordeal, but he kept going.
She then described how Carter took her to a bed on the bus and continued to assault her, and after the incident, she allegedly said she'd tell people what he did.
The documents claim he told her no one would believe her while calling her a "r******d little b***h."
The alleged victim - a virgin at the time claims the lawsuit, says she contracted HPV after the incident and is seeking monetary damages.
In 2017, Melissa Schuman, a former member of girl band Dream, claimed Carter sexually assaulted when she was 18 and he was 22.
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He acknowledged they had sexual relations but that they were consensual and has never been charged for such crimes.
Carter's younger brother Aaron tragically died last month aged 34.
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