Nick Carter, lead singer of pop group Backstreet Boys, was recently accused of rape by singer and actress Melissa Schuman. However, it has been announced by Los Angeles prosecutors that he will not be charged over the allegations.
Schuman, who used to be part of the teen girl band Dream, posted a blog earlier this year, publicly accusing Carter of raping her at his Santa Monica apartment back in 2003 while they were working on a TV film together. Following this, she filed her case with the police last month.
The 33-year-old wrote in her blog that she was 18 and a virgin at the time of the alleged rape, which Carter denied. In the blog post made back in February and titled “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody”, Schuman said she had decided to come forward after all this time after seeing a similar allegation against Carter from another woman last October.
Carter’s lawyer, Michael Holtz, said he felt absolved that no charges would be brought against him, with the statute of limitations for prosecutions expiring in 2013.
A relief for Nick Carter after LA prosecutors announce that they will not bring any charges, in what seemed like an allegation as part of the #MeToo movement. Source: Hits 94.3
“Nick has denied these allegations ever since he first learned of them last year, and was confident the district attorney would conclude that there was no basis to pursue charges against him,” Holtz said in a statement. “He is happy to put this matter behind him.”
The charge evaluation sheet stated that due to the statute of limitations passing, “an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence is not warranted and the matter is declined”.
The state of California discarded its statute of limitations for rape in 2016. Schuman spoke to the Associated Press, saying it was unfortunate that the state had not made the move to accommodate victims such as herself.
Schuman admitted she was “well aware of the likelihood that my case was not prosecutable”, but that it still gave her “great solace” to know that her case had been documented by the authorities.
“Speaking out was the best thing I could have ever done for myself,” she stated. “I hope it inspires others to do the same if it feels right for them.”
Melissa Schuman Source: Billboard
Responding to the allegations, Carter said that he was “shocked and saddened”, but saw his supporters using the hashtag “#IStandWithNickCarter” to claim that the allegations were false.
Schuman was the latest in many women who accused high-profile men of rape and sexual harassment, following the Harvey Weinstein scandal last year, which sparked the “#MeToo” movement. However, while some allegations have brought certain people to justice, there have also been a number of allegations that were proved false.
Do you feel that Nick Carter had already been accused before he was proven guilty, or do you believe that this is another false allegation of the #MeToo movement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.
Story by Emily Clark
Featured Photo Credit: BT