(KTLA) – Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter has been accused of raping a then-17-year-old girl in Tacoma, Washington, in 2001.
Shay Ruth claims Carter invited her onto his tour bus, gave her alcohol, assaulted her and then warned her against telling anyone.
“Carter tried to scare me into silence by saying no one would believe me if I told what happened. He was nasty and threatening, saying I would go to jail if I told. He also said he’d turn people against me because he was Nick Carter and he had the power to wreck my life,” Ruth said at a press conference in Beverly Hills on Thursday.
She also claims the singer made fun of her due to her autism and cerebral palsy.
“Carter took away my childhood and innocence, but he cannot and will not take away my strength and truth. I am a survivor and always will be,” she said.
The singer has not commented on the allegations, and his publicist has not returned KTLA’s request for comment.
However, a “source close to Carter” told TMZ that the accusation “is categorically false, Nick is focusing on his family and mourning the death of his brother.”
Carter’s younger brother, Aaron Carter, died last month at the age of 34.
Carter has been accused of rape before. Singer Melissa Schuman claimed he raped her in the early 2000s, though the statue of limitations expired before charges could be filed.
Carter denied raping Schuman.
