Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter denies rape allegation

Dream singer Melissa Schuman has alleged that Carter raped her in his apartment

Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter has denied rape allegations made by Dream singer Melissa Schuman.

“I am shocked and saddened by Ms Schuman’s accusations. Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual," Carter issued in a statement (via NME).

"We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally. This is the first that I am hearing about these accusations, nearly two decades later. It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm."

Schuman, writing in a blog post, accused the singer of raping her at his apartment while the two were working together on a made-for-TV movie. She says that Carter was, "aware that I was a virgin and that I held to religious conservative christian values. I was vocal about this."

She alleges that he performed oral sex on her after she had told him to stop and that she did not want to go any further, before he proceeded to rape her.

The musician said she was preparing to come forward and press charges against Carter, but was advised against it by her then-manager, as Carter "had the most powerful litigator in the country".

"I didn't have the money, the clout or access to an attorney who was powerful enough to stand up against my abuser's legal counsel. I was told I would likely be buried in humiliation, accused of being fame hungry, and it would ultimately hurt me professionally as well as publicly," she wrote.

She also used her post to confront the idea of victim shaming, noting: "Let me ask this simple question. Who the hell wants to be famous for being raped? I certainly don’t want to be 'known' for this. I never wanted anybody to know about my story. I wanted to lock it in a box in my mind and let the memories slowly suffocate as time went on."

Carter was a founding member of the Backstreet Boys when they formed in 1993.

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