LOU PEARLMAN - PEARLMAN 'PREYED ON YOUNG MEN'

Boy band svengali LOU PEARLMAN has been branded a "pervy paedophile" who took advantage of BACKSTREET BOYS singer NICK CARTER, by the manager's former assistant. Steve Mooney claims the 53-year-old - who has managed both the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync - preyed on the young men, including Carter, 27. Mooney tells Vanity Fair, "I would absolutely say the guy was a sexual predator. All the talent knew what Lou's game was." Phoenix Stone, an early member of the Backstreet Boys and Carter's mother Jane, have both backed up the claims. Jane Carter says, "Certain things happened and it almost destroyed our family. I tried to warn everyone. I tried to warn all the mothers... tried to expose him for what he was years ago." Pearlman is currently awaiting trial on bank fraud charges in a Florida jail. A spokesman for Pearlman was unavailable for comment.