(CNN) — Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter has filed a countersuit against two women who accused him of committing sexual assault on two occasions more than 15 years ago.
Carter’s legal response comes after Shannon “Shay” Ruth filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him in Clark County, Nevada, in December.
Ruth, a 39-year-old woman who says she lives with autism and cerebral palsy, alleges that Carter gave her alcohol and assaulted her after a concert in Tacoma, Washington, in February 2001. She was 17 at the time of the alleged incident.
Carter has denied the accusation.
“Having met millions of fans over the course of his 34-year career, it would be impossible for Carter to know definitively if he ever crossed paths with Ruth,” reads his counterclaim, filed in Clark County on Thursday and obtained by CNN. “Carter is certain that he did not have sexual relations with Ruth, he did not grab her arm and he did not sexually assault or harass her.”
It also alleges that Ruth was “groomed and trained,” in part, by Melissa Schuman Henschel and her father, Jerome Schuman.
In 2017, Schuman Henschel accused Carter of raping her 15 years earlier. Carter denied Schuman Henschel’s accusation, stating in part, “Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that everything we did was non-consensual.”
Prosecutors in Los Angeles, where Schuman sought to bring charges against Carter, said in a document filed at the time that they dismissed the matter without analyzing the “strengths and weaknesses of the evidence.”
Carter’s countersuit also named Schuman Henschel’s father, Jerome, as counter-defendant along with twenty unidentified individuals and corporations that Carter says “are responsible for the injuries he suffered.”
Additionally, Carter’s files allege that Ruth made false reports to police with “significant and numerous discrepancies and inconsistencies in her reports.” She claims that Ruth previously admitted that Carter did not sexually assault her and that the two women are taking advantage of the #MeToo movement.
“In an important development in recent American history, the #MeToo movement was born and rightfully created a platform for victims of abuse,” the lawsuit states. “Unfortunately, some people chose to take advantage of that platform. Those people felt that any voice and any accusation, right or wrong, would win because the world was finally listening to those who accuse.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Carter, Ruth, Schuman Henschel and ABC for comment.
Carter has not been criminally charged in connection with Ruth’s accusation.
The singer is seeking more than $2.3 million in damages, citing an ABC decision to cancel the television special “A Very Backstreet Holiday” amid Ruth’s lawsuit. He is also seeking punitive and emotional distress damages to be determined by the court, along with attorneys’ fees.
“Why should Nick Carter be believed with his long history of abusing women?” said Ruth’s attorney, Mark J. Boskovich, when she was asked about Carter’s counterclaim. “A jury will weigh the evidence and decide.”
(CNN) — Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter has filed a countersuit against two women who accused him of committing sexual assault on two occasions more than 15 years ago.
Carter’s legal response comes after Shannon “Shay” Ruth filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him in Clark County, Nevada, in December.
Ruth, a 39-year-old woman who says she lives with autism and cerebral palsy, alleges that Carter gave her alcohol and assaulted her after a concert in Tacoma, Washington, in February 2001. She was 17 at the time of the alleged incident.
Carter has denied the accusation.
“Having met millions of fans over the course of his 34-year career, it would be impossible for Carter to know definitively if he ever crossed paths with Ruth,” reads his counterclaim, filed in Clark County on Thursday and obtained by CNN. “Carter is certain that he did not have sexual relations with Ruth, he did not grab her arm and he did not sexually assault or harass her.”
It also alleges that Ruth was “groomed and trained,” in part, by Melissa Schuman Henschel and her father, Jerome Schuman.
In 2017, Schuman Henschel accused Carter of raping her 15 years earlier. Carter denied Schuman Henschel’s accusation, stating in part, “Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that everything we did was non-consensual.”
Prosecutors in Los Angeles, where Schuman sought to bring charges against Carter, said in a document filed at the time that they dismissed the matter without analyzing the “strengths and weaknesses of the evidence.”
Carter’s countersuit also named Schuman Henschel’s father, Jerome, as counter-defendant along with twenty unidentified individuals and corporations that Carter says “are responsible for the injuries he suffered.”
Additionally, Carter’s files allege that Ruth made false reports to police with “significant and numerous discrepancies and inconsistencies in her reports.” She claims that Ruth previously admitted that Carter did not sexually assault her and that the two women are taking advantage of the #MeToo movement.
“In an important development in recent American history, the #MeToo movement was born and rightfully created a platform for victims of abuse,” the lawsuit states. “Unfortunately, some people chose to take advantage of that platform. Those people felt that any voice and any accusation, right or wrong, would win because the world was finally listening to those who accuse.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Carter, Ruth, Schuman Henschel and ABC for comment.
Carter has not been criminally charged in connection with Ruth’s accusation.
The singer is seeking more than $2.3 million in damages, citing an ABC decision to cancel the television special “A Very Backstreet Holiday” amid Ruth’s lawsuit. He is also seeking punitive and emotional distress damages to be determined by the court, along with attorneys’ fees.
“Why should Nick Carter be believed with his long history of abusing women?” said Ruth’s attorney, Mark J. Boskovich, when she was asked about Carter’s counterclaim. “A jury will weigh the evidence and decide.”
