LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A complaint filed in Clark County alleges Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter sexually abused a 17-year-old girl on a tour bus in 2001.
Attorneys representing Shannon Ruth, who is now 39, filed the lawsuit on her behalf on Thursday, Dec. 8. Ruth and Carter, 42, are both residents of Las Vegas.
According to the complaint, Ruth saw the Backstreet Boys perform in Tacoma, Washington in February of 2001, as part of their Black & Blue Tour. Afterward, she and a friend waited in line for autographs and Carter invited Ruth to join him on his tour bus, the complaint states.
Carter, who was 21 at the time, offered Ruth a beverage and she requested apple juice. According to the complaint, she was given what Carter called "VIP juice" — a red-colored drink that Ruth believed "was an alcohol cranberry juice concoction."
"Despite the strange taste, [Ruth] drank the beverage as to not be rude," attorneys wrote.
After she finished the juice, Ruth states Carter took her to bathroom on the tour bus and instructed her to "orally copulate him." He then took Ruth to a bed and "vaginally penetrated" her, the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit alleges Carter became irritated at Ruth's reluctance to participate in sex acts, telling her to "Stop crying!" at one point. When she told Carter she was going to tell someone, he "grabbed [Ruth's] arm, leaving a bruise, and screamed at her." Carter allegedly called Ruth a slur and told her "she would go to jail if she told anyone what happened between them," the complaint states.
Ruth's attorneys, from the Corsiglia, McMahon & Allard law firm, write that she is on the autism spectrum and has cerebral palsy.
Ruth claims this was her first sexual experience, and that she was later told she had contracted HPV, a sexually-transmitted disease known to cause genital warts and cervical cancer.
"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 told reporters on Thursday. "Even though I am 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."
In a statement to KTNV-TV, Carter's attorney Michael Holtz said Ruth "has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick — and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time." (Full statement follows)
“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.”
Ruth accuses Carter of sexual battery and infliction of emotional distress, both intentional and negligent. Attorneys are seeking a minimum of $15,000 in damages on her behalf.
"Carter has a history and pattern of engaging in this behavior," Ruth's attorneys write in the complaint. They site at least three other instances of alleged sexual abuse with similar circumstances, dating back to the early 2000s.
