LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Pop star Nick Carter's request to have a sexual assault lawsuit against him moved to Nevada has been denied by a California judge.
In 2017, former teen pop singer Melissa Schuman claimed the Backstreet Boys' singer raped her at a Santa Monica apartment in 2003. She filed a police report in 2018 and later that year, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office stated Carter would not be prosecuted and declined to investigate citing the 10-year limitations period had expired.
However, in January 2023, California's new Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act went into effect, which gives survivors more time to file lawsuits in cases with expired statues of limitations. Schuman filed a lawsuit against Carter in April 2023.
Carter's attorneys had filed a motion to seek approval to move the case from California to Nevada. Court documents state Carter's attorneys stated they were concerned about out-of-state witnesses being able to show up to court, public interest factors, and weighing competing interests of California and Nevada.
On Wednesday, Judge Lisa K. Sepe-Wiesenfeld from the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California disagreed and ruled in favor of Schuman to keep the case in California. In her ruling, she stated that having California witnesses travel to Nevada would also cause issues and that private interest factors "weigh in favor of trying this action in California".
Carter is already facing several lawsuits and legal actions against other alleged sexual assault victims in Nevada, which his legal team referenced as one reason why the case should be moved. However, Sepe-Wisenfeld said that doesn't bear much weight on their analysis to keep this particular case in California.
"While this may give Nevada an interest in being the sole jurisdiction for cases of this nature brought against [Carter], this does not mean that California has no interest in resolving this action as the alleged conduct occurred in California," her ruling read in part.
Channel 13 reached out to Schuman's legal team who sent us the following statement.
"The attempt to move this case to Nevada was part of his continued campaign to attack and intimidate me because I came forward about the assault. This has only strengthened my resolve to stand up for justice and to set an example for sexual assault survivors everywhere."
Channel 13 has also reached out to Carter's legal team. They have not responded, as of the time this article was published.
Carter has never been charged for the alleged sexual assaults. He has filed counterclaims against Schuman, as well as Shannon Ruth and a woman only identified by the initials A.R., in Clark County. According to District Court records, a jury trial for the case against Ruth had been scheduled for January 2025 while a court date hasn't been set for Carter's counterclaim against A.R.
