In November, Nick Carter was accused of sexual assault by Melissa Schuman. He responded to her harrowing, detailed description of their encounter by claiming that everything was consensual.
Melissa Schuman, who was a member of Dream, is doing more than making a public statement in her quest for justice.
She’s now taken matters to the police.
TMZ reports that Schuman has filed a police report against Nick Carter.
On Wednesday, she sat down with the Santa Monica police and gave her report on Nick Carter’s alleged sexual assault.
Her report will be handed off to the LAPD’s newly established Special Crimes unit, which was established in the wake of the Weinstein scandal.
(Remember how the LAPD was embarrassed beyond belief in the O.J. Simpson trial? These kinds of special departments are to make certain that history doesn’t repeat itself)
It remains to be seen whether this particular police report will actually lead to trial — because of the way that our court system is structured, only a minority of reported rapes see the inside of a courtroom.
But it sounds like Schuman has done all that she can, for the moment.
In 2002, when Melissa Schuman was 18 and Nick Carter was 22, Nick apparently expressed an interest in meeting her.
Though Melissa had a steady boyfriend, she says that her label thought that it would be great if she at least heard him out and hung out with him. So she went with a friend to his apartment.
After listening to some music, she says that the two of them began to kiss.
"After kissing for a moment, he took my hand and brought me into the bathroom adjacent to his office. He shut the door and we continued to kiss. I asked him what we were doing in there. He didn’t respond and continued to kiss me."
This, folks, is when her story becomes upsetting.
"He then pick me up, put me on the bathroom counter and started to unbutton my pants. I told him I didn’t want to go any further. He didn’t listen. He didn’t care."
If someone performs oral sex on a person without their consent, that is absolutely sexual assault.
"He told me, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody.’"
That totally misses the point.
"I told him that’s not why I didn’t want to do it. He took off my pants anyway and then proceeded to perform oral sex on me. I told him to stop, but he didn’t."
"He sat himself on the bathroom counter and asked me to perform oral sex on him. I declined, he was upset."
From her description, it sounds like he had managed to completely ignore that Schuman was an unwilling participant.
"He told me, ‘I did it for you and it’s only right you do it for me.’"
Rules of reciprocity apply to consensual couples, folks. Not to what Schuman is describing.
"I felt scared and trapped. He was visually and clearly growing very angry and impatient with me. I couldn’t leave. It was evident to me, that i couldn’t leave."
Most readers could logically assume that fear was a factor, but people always get the question of "why didn’t you leave," and Schuman decided to go ahead and answer that.
"He was stronger and much bigger than me, and there was no way I would be able to open that door or have anyone help me. My friend couldn’t help me, I didn’t even know where she was."
Which is when she says that she had no real choice but to give in to his demands.
"So when he placed my hand on his penis my thought was the only way to get out was to get him to finish what he had started. That’s where I saw myself, my reflection, watching myself do something that I was [sickened] by. Watching myself be assaulted, forced to engage in an act against my will."
She says that it was then that Nick Carter took her into the bedroom, still keeping her away from everyone else.
"He threw me on the bed and climbed on top of me. Again, I told him that I was a virgin and I didn’t want to have sex. I told him that I was saving myself for my future husband. I said it over and over again."
Schuman holds conservative Christian views but, to be clear, even someone who’s had a thousand sexual partners still requires consent. Obviously.
"He whispered in my ear as to entice me, ‘I could be your husband.’"
Gross. And missing the point.
"He was relentless, refusing to take my no’s for an answer. He was heavy, too heavy to get out from under him."
That sounds so scary.
"Then I felt it, he put something inside of me. I asked him what it was and he whispered in my ear once more, ‘It’s all me baby.’"
Nick Carter responded to the rape accusations with a statement.
"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."
He’s describing a very different evening than she did.
"We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally."
Melissa mentioned that in her blog post, as being incredibly uncomfortable and the first time that she was forced to see him face-to-face after that.
"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."
At the time of the alleged assault, Melissa Schuman said that she did attempt to report it — speaking to her manager.
Her manager then informed her that Nick Carter’s legal representation was the absolute best and that her case would be crushed, in the court of public opinion as well as in actual court, because she did not have the financial resources to defend herself against what a powerful litigation team could throw her way.
With the #MeToo movement opening more people’s eyes to the horrors of sexual harassment and assault, it’s more likely than ever before that Schuman’s story is reaching people — even people who once considered themselves Nick Carter’s fans.
It’s harder to tell how much traction she’ll get with the actual justice system.
