Woman accuses Nick Carter of raping her on tour bus in 2001

LAS VEGAS (TCD) -- A 39-year-old woman has filed a civil lawsuit against Nick Carter, the former Backstreet Boys frontman, for allegedly raping her when she was 17 years old and giving her a sexually transmitted infection.

On Thursday, Dec. 8, the alleged victim, Shannon "Shay" Ruth, and her attorney, Mark Boskovich, announced the allegations against Carter, which they claim occurred 21 years ago.

According to Boskovich, in February 2001, Ruth attended a Backstreet Boys concert in Tacoma, Washington, and joined the autograph line after the show. She reportedly met Carter while in the line, and he allegedly invited her back to the tour bus. Carter supposedly offered Ruth a "funny-tasting beverage," which he allegedly called "V.I.P. juice."

After drinking the juice, Carter allegedly took Ruth to the bathroom in the tour bus and told her to get on her knees. Carter reportedly exposed himself and made Shay perform sexual acts on him, even though she was "under duress."

Then, he allegedly took her to a bed on the bus and raped her. Boskovich said Ruth was a virgin at the time, and allegedly told Carter "over and over again" to stop. When she protested, he allegedly pushed her on the bed and bruised her arm. At one point, he allegedly called Ruth a "retarded little b--ch."

Ruth is autistic and has a mild case of cerebral palsy.

Ruth later learned she had been infected with HPV, a sexually transmitted infection that can sometimes lead to cancer. Boskovich said he spoke with other women who had allegedly been assaulted by Carter, and those victims also live with HPV.

Carter allegedly threatened Ruth and told her she would go to jail if she ever told anyone about the purported rape.

Ruth also spoke at the press conference, and said, "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."

She revealed she engaged in self-harm after the alleged assault and started cutting herself because she "felt like I had nowhere to turn, no way to express my emotions except by hurting myself."

Ruth said toward the end of her speech, "No celebrity is above the law. Carter took away my childhood and innocence, but he cannot and will not take away my strength or my truth. I am a survivor and always will be."

Carter denied the allegations against him. According to CNN, his attorney said in a statement, "This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue. 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."

A Backstreet Boys special was reportedly scheduled to air on ABC Dec. 14, but was pulled amid the lawsuit, CNN reports.

Boskovich said the civil lawsuit is seeking punitive damages and damages to compensate for her harm.

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• Nick Carter denies rape allegation as ABC pulls Backstreet Boys holiday special - CNN