LOS ANGELES — Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, already sued by three women alleging sexual assault, is facing a new rape claim.

A fourth woman has come forward with disturbing allegations about the 45-year-old pop star, including assertions that he raped her twice in 2005 and infected her with sexually transmitted diseases, one of which led to a cervical cancer diagnosis. The accuser, Lauren Penly, filed her lawsuit earlier this month in Clark County, Nevada. According to the lawsuit, reviewed by The Times, Penly said she and Carter engaged in a brief "sexually intimate" relationship from December 2004 to February 2005, when she was 19.

Penly sued Carter on three counts: sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. She seeks at least $15,000 covering "past and future" medical expenses and "pain and suffering," plus legal fees and additional damages. She is requesting a jury trial.

"It takes profound courage and resilience for survivors of sexual assault to publicly come forward in pursuit of justice, particularly in the music industry that has long fostered a pervasive environment of sexual exploitation," attorney Gianna N. Elliot, who represents Penly, said Wednesday in a statement to The Times.

A legal representative for Carter did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment Wednesday but denied Penly's allegations in a statement shared with several outlets. The singer's legal team said Carter does not "recall ever even meeting" his latest accuser, let alone engaging in any relationship with her.

During their alleged monthslong relationship, Penly visited Carter (older brother of late teen sensation Aaron Carter) in Los Angeles at his apartment and they engaged in consensual sex three times, according to the 10-page complaint. Penly, who said she had never had unprotected sex prior to her relationship with Carter, alleged the singer refused to use any form of protection and led her "to believe that he was 'clean' of sexually transmittable diseases."

According to the lawsuit, Carter first raped Penly in early 2005. Penly said she went to Carter's apartment and asked to just watch a movie and "hangout" instead of having sex, but the singer refused. He allegedly "told her no because the only reason she was there was to have sex and that is what she wants," the lawsuit says. Carter allegedly picked up his accuser and "threw her onto his bed" where he bent her over the side of the bed and "forcefully" vaginally raped her, despite her "saying 'no' multiple times."

The complaint claims Carter told Penly to keep "his sexual assault a secret and that nobody would believe her."

Two months after the alleged incident, Carter apologized to Penly and asked her to visit him at his apartment. Upon her arrival, Carter was with two friends, whom he told "he would be right back" as he led Penly to his bedroom, the lawsuit says. Penly told Carter, per the lawsuit, that she did not want to have sex, but the singer allegedly proceeded to "forcefully" penetrate her. "Carter knowingly continued to engage in sexual intercourse with [Penly] despite her repeated refusals and requests for him to stop," the lawsuit says.

Penly accused Carter of infecting her with "various sexually transmitted diseases" including human papillomavirus (HPV), which she said led to her cervical cancer diagnosis.

In July 2005, Penly learned from her doctor she had tested positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea, the lawsuit says. She also tested positive for cancerous cells, the lawsuit says. The Mayo Clinic says some types of HPV infections can cause different types of cancer including cervical cancer. A month after testing positive for the STDs, Penly was diagnosed with Stage 2 cervical cancer and underwent numerous treatments including an invasive cervical procedure, the lawsuit says.

Penly also alleges in her lawsuit that she faces "ongoing harassment" from fans of Backstreet Boys after she was called to testify at a deposition involving other women who have accused Carter of sexual abuse.

"The impacts of Carter's sexual assaults are ceaseless, causing Plaintiff severe emotional distress, physical anguish, medical issues, intimacy issues and other complex trauma," the lawsuit says.

The claims in Penly's lawsuit echo allegations raised in a series of lawsuits in recent years. In 2022, a woman filed a civil suit against the Backstreet Boys performer, alleging he had sexually assaulted her when she was 17 and infected her with HPV. Another woman came forward with similar accusations in a lawsuit filed in August 2023. Carter was also sued in 2017 by a singer for girl group Dream who alleged he raped her in the early 2000s. The trio of accusers publicized their allegations in the 2024 docuseries "Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter."

In a statement, Nick Carter's legal representatives Liane K. Wakayama and Dale Hayes Jr. dismissed the claims as "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," according to People.

The attorneys added: "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."

Penly filed her lawsuit as Carter promotes new music and appears in the new Paramount+ two-part documentary "The Carters: Hurts to Love You," which premiered Tuesday. The Backstreet Boys will also begin a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere in July.

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