Nick Carter is set to be questioned under oath over claims he sexually assaulted multiple women, which he adamantly denies, during his break from the Backstreet Boys residency, Us Weekly can exclusively report.
On October 20, lawyers for one of the alleged victims, Laura Penly, asked the court for additional time to complete the singer’s deposition.
Lawyers for another accuser, Melissa Schuman, “With respect to the deposition of Carter, despite diligent efforts to coordinate dates, Parties have not been able to obtain dates that work for all parties and counsel to complete the deposition, which will likely last several days given the number of parties involved.”
The lawyer said Carter’s deposition is crucial because he is seeking damages against them for alleged defamation. The duo asked for 90 days to complete Carter’s deposition, which would be at the end of January.
Carter, along with his fellow Backstreet Boys bandmates Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson, is currently in the middle of a successful residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
The tour, which launched in July, will resume on December 26 and will run through mid-February, meaning Carter will have to deal with his deposition during break or in the middle of the tour.
A source close to the case tells Us, “Schuman will be deposed in February. All of the other plaintiffs/defendants (aside from Carter) have already been deposed.”
The lawsuit in question was brought by a woman named Shannon Ruth, who accused Carter, 45, of sexual assault in 2001. Carter countersued Ruth, and Schuman, 41. Schuman, a former pop star, claimed Carter assaulted her in 2002.
In his countersuit, which includes Schuman’s father as a defendant, he claimed that the three conspired together to push false accusations of assault in an attempt to shake him down for a settlement. The accusers deny the allegations.
Nick Carter Denies Sexual Assault Allegations in New Lawsuit
In April, Penly was added to the lawsuit. She claimed Carter assaulted her in 2005. Carter’s team denied the claims.
“This is just more of the same nonsense from the gang of conspirators and their lawyers who continue to abuse the justice system to try to ruin Nick Carter,” Carter’s lawyers Liane K. Wakayama and Dale Hayes Jr. said. “It’s drawn from the same predictable playbook — lie in wait for decades until Mr. Carter is celebrating a professional milestone, then hide behind litigation privilege to make utterly false claims in an attempt to inflict maximum damage on Nick and his family.”
Nick Carter’s Accuser Speaks Out Against His New Claims
Back in August 2024, Carter filed a separate lawsuit against Schuman in California, demanding $2.5 million for alleged emotional distress. Carter denied that he assaulted Schuman inside a L.A. apartment but admitted that they had consensual sex. His lawyer wrote, “At no point in time did [Carter] sexually assault [Schuman] or any other person.”
Carter’s legal team suggested Schuman brought the false claims for attention.
“[Schuman’s] dwindling acting career came to an end in 2015 after her performance in a movie entitled Actress(es): A Web Series. Prior to the foregoing film, she had not appeared in any movie or television show since 2005; nor has she appeared in any since,” the suit claimed.
Ruth denied the accusations. She stands by her claim that Carter assaulted her.
