No rape charges for Backstreet’s Carter
Prosecutors declined to file charges Tuesday against Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys after a singer reported last year that she had been raped in 2003.
The woman, Melissa Schuman of the group Dream, was 18 at the time, so the statute of limitations for prosecution expired in 2013, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.
California did away with its statute of limitations for rape in 2016. Schuman said it’s unfortunate that the state didn’t make the move retroactive to accommodate victims like her.
Carter’s lawyer said the singer “is happy to put this matter behind him.”
“Nick has denied these allegations ever since he first learned of them last year, and was confident the district attorney would conclude that there was no basis to pursue charges against him,” lawyer Michael Holtz said in a statement.
Carter said in November that he was “shocked and saddened” when Schuman said he had invited her to his Santa Monica apartment in 2003 and sexually assaulted her.
Schuman said Tuesday that it gives her “great solace” to know that her allegation was presented to law enforcement.
“Speaking out was the best thing I could have ever done for myself,” she said.