Carmen Bryan has accused N.O.R.E. of sexually assaulting her at an NYC club in the '90s.

She alleges N.O.R.E. -- whose real name is Victor Santiago -- came up to her "visibly intoxicated" and, in front of her friends, "committed an act of nonconsensual digital penetration," according to the complaint obtained by TMZ.

Bryan claims she begged N.O.R.E. to stop, but "physically overpowered" her to the point that other clubgoers had to pull him off her.

She says she ran crying from the club, but the rapper followed her, allegedly saying ... "Don’t you know who I am?"

Bryan claims that N.O.R.E. recognized her once they were under the streetlights, and allegedly said ... "Carm, I didn’t know it was you. You’re always doing something different with your hair."

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She says he also tried to apologize weeks later ... at a joint Father’s Day event and birthday party for her daughter Destiny, who she shares with Nas.

According to the lawsuit, first reported on by Rolling Stone, Bryan confided in Jay-Z about the alleged assault, claiming he was "protective" over her because, according to Bryan, they had a secret on-off relationship for years.

She says Jay "reacted strongly and threatened to confront Santiago personally," but she asked him not to.

Bryan says she stayed silent publicly for years ... but was inspired to come forward after seeing Cassie sue Diddy over assault allegations.

The lawsuit says ... "Learning of that filing triggered Ms. Bryan’s own traumatic memories of Santiago’s assault."

Bryan claims in the complaint that the assault being public "magnified" its impact, saying ... "It was not only the physical violation. It was being grabbed, overpowered, and sexually humiliated in front of friends and strangers, in the orbit of an industry where women were often expected to absorb male misconduct in silence."

She also claims she tried to settle with N.O.R.E. privately in March, but he allegedly denied

According to the complaint, Bryan is seeking compensatory damages as well as damages for emotional distress and mental anguish.