Nick Carter slams sexual assault allegations as 'factual impossibility' in motion for summary judgment
Nick Carter asked a court to rule in his favor before a sexual assault lawsuit heads to trial.
Carter, 44, claimed Shannon Ruth's rape allegations are "factually impossible" and asked the court to end the litigation in documents filed May 7 and obtained by Fox News Digital.
The Backstreet Boys star insisted his accuser has not been able to produce "a single shred of evidence" to show her claims against Carter are true, according to the court documents.
"In fact, the only ‘evidence’ of harm Ruth has produced is an undated photograph of what appears to be a bruise on a person’s arm. Ruth testified that her friend, Eleanor, saw her bruise and took this picture," the filing stated, citing Ruth's deposition. "Eleanor, on the other hand, testified that she did not take any pictures of Ruth.
NICK CARTER ACCUSED OF RAPING AUTISTIC FAN IN LAWSUIT
"Ruth also alleges that she developed genital warts as a result of the alleged assault, and that she showed said warts to Eleanor and Eleanor’s mother who thereafter took her to a medical clinic to be examined. Eleanor was clear in her testimony that this never happened," the documents added.
"As such, the only ‘evidence’ presented by Ruth to show any alleged harm between February 2001 and May 2020 is Ruth’s self-serving and contradicted testimony."
A lawyer for Ruth said she "disagrees" with the information in the motion for summary judgment.
"[Ruth] looks forward to being able to express her side of the story in her opposition," Mark Boskovich told Fox News Digital.
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Ruth filed her lawsuit in 2022. During a press conference held with her lawyers in a Facebook livestream, she alleged the Backstreet Boys member raped her in 2001 when she was 17 years old.
"The last 21 years have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame and self-harm that are a direct result of Nick Carter raping me," the woman claimed during the press conference.
"Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe that nothing has affected me more or had a more lasting impact on my life than what Nick Carter did and said to me.
"After he raped me, I remember him calling me a 'retarded b----' and grabbing me and leaving bruises on my arm."
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At the time, Carter's legal team denied the allegations.
"This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue," Carter's attorney, Michael Holtz, shared with Fox News Digital.
"Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick, and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time. No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer. There is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize."
This isn't the first time Carter has been accused of sexual assault. In 2017, pop girl band group member Melissa Schuman also claimed she was raped by the musician.
Carter denied the allegation at the time, saying, "Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual. We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally."
Prosecutors declined to pursue charges against Carter at the time due to the statute of limitations having expired.
"The reporting party alleged that, in 2003, she was the victim of a sexual assault perpetrated by the suspect in his apartment," prosecutors said. "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."
Carter is also fighting another sexual assault lawsuit brought against him by an unidentified woman who goes by A.R. in the filings.
The pop star has denied all allegations.