Backstreet Boys’ singer Nick Carter will not be charged over accusation of sexual assault in 2003
The statute of limitations expired in 2013; a lawyer for Carter says the singer was ‘happy to put the matter behind him’
Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter will not be charged over a 2003 sexual assault accusation because it falls outside the California statute of limitations, Los Angeles prosecutors said on Tuesday.
They said that because the woman, Melissa Schuman from the group Dream, was 18 at the time, the statute of limitations expired in 2013. They did not evaluate the merits of Schuman’s story.
“An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence is not warranted, and the matter is declined,” prosecutors said in a charge evaluation worksheet released to the media.
Schuman said in an email Tuesday that she was well aware the statute of limitations would make charges unlikely, but it gives her solace to know her case has been documented, and she is happy she spoke out.
A lawyer for Carter, whose band is currently playing a long-term engagement in Las Vegas, said in a statement on Tuesday that the singer was “happy to put the matter behind him”.