Nick Carter Rape Accuser Melissa Schuman Sues Backstreet Boys Singer for Sexual Assault and Battery

Schuman previously came forward in 2017 claiming Carter raped her while the two were working on a movie project together in the early 2000s — an allegation the Backstreet Boys singer has long denied

Nick Carter is being sued for sexual assault and battery by Melissa Schuman, a former teen pop singer with the girl group Dream.

Schuman, now 38, is accusing the Backstreet Boys singer, now 43, of raping her in his Santa Monica apartment in 2003 when she was 18 and he was 22, court documents obtained by PEOPLE Tuesday show.

In the suit, Schuman accuses Carter of using "his role, status, and power as a well-known singer to gain access to, groom, manipulate, exploit, and sexually assault" her. The complaint also states Schuman has "suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological stress" as a result of the alleged sexual assault.

Schuman previously came forward in 2017 and said that Carter allegedly raped her while the two were working on a movie project together in the early 2000s.

She wrote a blog post on her website at the time titled 'Don't Worry, I Won't Tell Anybody' that stated that after she was invited to Carter's Californian home, the two began kissing in the bathroom before he performed oral sex on her despite her objections. Schuman then alleged that despite telling Carter she was a virgin and was saving herself for marriage, he allegedly led her to his bedroom, forced himself upon her and raped her, taking her virginity.

Related:Nick Carter Countersues Women Who Accused Him of Sexual Assault: 'Opportunists'

In a statement shared with PEOPLE on Tuesday, Carter's attorney Liane K. Wakayama said, "Melissa Schuman has been peddling this tale for many years, but her allegation was false when she first made it back in 2017 — and it still is. A judge in Nevada recently ruled, after reviewing the extensive evidence we laid out, that there are strong grounds for Nick Carter to proceed with his lawsuit against Ms. Schuman for plotting to damage, defame and extort Nick, his associates, his friends and his family."

Wakayama continued, "In light of our progress in Nevada, this kind of response is at once both predictable and pathetic. But this PR stunt won't shake Nick from his determination to hold Ms. Schuman and her co-conspirators to account for the immeasurable pain and suffering their extortionate conduct has caused."

In the suit — which also states Schuman is suing Carter for "Intentional infliction of emotional distress" — the Dream singer says that after the alleged assault, Carter began to "manipulate and torment" her, texting her, "Why did you make me do that."

Related:Nick Carter Rape Accuser Melissa Schuman Explains Why She Came Forward: 'I Needed This Healing'

Carter denied the allegations in 2017, saying in a statement obtained by PEOPLE at the time that Schuman had "never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual … It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm."

In February 2018, Schuman wrote on Twitter that she had filed a police report against Carter. In September that same year however, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office confirmed Carter would not be prosecuted and declined to investigate her allegations due to the 10-year limitations period expiring.

"The reporting party alleged that in 2003, she was the victim of a sexual assault perpetrated by the suspect in his apartment. The victim was 18 years old at the time of the assault. The statute of limitations expired in 2013. Therefore an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence is not warranted and the matter is declined," a comment in the task force declination obtained by PEOPLE at the time read.

Responding to the declination, Schuman explained in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that regardless of the decision "speaking out was the best thing I could have ever done for myself."

In Schuman's current suit, she cited a new bill in California in regards to adult sexual abuse that allows the lifting of the statute of limitations for civil actions.

On January 1, 2023, the statute of limitation window for sexual assault claims made by adult survivors opened, which allows the Plaintiff for the first time in a decade to seek adjudication of her claims for sexual assault against Defendant in a court of law," her new suit reads.

In a new statement obtained by PEOPLE, Schuman said: "I've faced extraordinary backlash for standing up for myself; I am not the first, however my intention is that I am the last. It's time that powerful figures in the music industry get the message that they can no longer afford to enable and protect sexual predators. I'm fighting to make the music industry a safer place to work and perform."

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Last month, Carter filed a countersuit against Shannon Ruth, who sued him in December 2022, for alleged sexual battery. Ruth claims he raped her on a tour bus in 2001 when she was 17. In his countersuit, he is also suing Schuman.

The countersuit states the two women took advantage of the #MeToo movement and used it to launch a five-year conspiracy to "defame and vilify Carter and otherwise ruin his reputation for the purposes of garnering attention and fame and/or extorting money from Carter," according to the suit obtained by PEOPLE.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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