Nick Carter will not be charged with a sex crime after he was accused of raping singer Melissa Schuman in 2003.
The Dream singer went public with her claims last year (17) and eventually filed a police report in Los Angeles in February, claiming Carter forced himself on her while they were hanging out at his home during a break from their movie The Hollow, when she was 18.
The Backstreet Boys singer has always maintained the sex was consensual, saying, "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.
"We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally."
Now, he has learned he won't face legal action as the statute of limitations for the alleged rape incident expired in 2013, according to TMZ.
The news comes just hours after Carter revealed his wife Lauren suffered a miscarriage three months into her pregnancy.
The pop star shared the sad news in a series of posts on Twitter on Monday (10Sep18), writing: "God give us peace during this time. I really was looking forward to meeting her after 3 months. I’m heartbroken."
When a fan responded with a message of condolence, Nick, who is father to two-year-old son Odin with Lauren, revealed the couple had been expecting a baby girl, writing: "It was a little sister for Odin…"
Nick is currently on a solo tour of South America and Mexico, and was scheduled to perform in Lima, Peru, on Monday night in what was the final night of the jaunt, and, while the 38-year-old initially contemplated cancelling the gig, tweeting: "I don’t think I can perform tonight. I’m sorry Lima," he eventually decided to go ahead. "This will be hard, but for the love of my fans here in Lima I’ll be on the stage tonight," he added.
