Elmo Accused of Affair With Minor

[krome2ez]

November 12, 2012, 3:55 PM ET

Elmo Puppeteer Kevin Clash

Accused Of Affair With Minor

A.D. Pruitt

Getty Images

Puppeteer and voice of ‘Elmo’ Kevin Clash on September 19, 2011 in New York City.Kevin Clash, famous for being the voice of Elmo for more than 25 years, is taking a leave of absence to fight allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a minor seven years ago.

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street, released a statement this morning stating it received communication from a 23-year old man in June who alleged he had an affair when he was 16-years old with the 52-year old puppeteer. After two in-person meetings with the accuser and “repeated” discussions, Sesame said the allegations were unsubstantiated, but faulted Clash with inappropriate behavior.

“We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation. We also conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated,” the Sesame Workshop said.

“Although this was a personal relationship unrelated to the workplace, our investigation did reveal that Kevin exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding Internet usage and he was disciplined,” the statement said, adding Clash was granted leave to “take actions to protect his reputation.”

In a statement provided by his publicist, Clash admitted to the relationship, but said it began when the accuser was an adult.

“I am a *** man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter. I had a relationship with the accuser,” Clash said. “It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to characterize it as something other than what it was. I am taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false and defamatory allegation.”

Clash is being represented by Andreozzi & Associates, P.C., the same law firm that represented victims of ex- Penn State coach and convicted pedophile Jerry Sandusky.

Earlier this year, Sesame Street found itself in the middle of election year politics when Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he would seek to cut public funding for Public Broadcasting and characters like Big Bird.

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/11/12/elmo-puppeteer-kevin-clash-accused-of-affair-with-minor/?mod=google_news_blog

[RVPleaseToday]

The person accusing him has recanted and said he was lying about it.

End of story.

[krome2ez]

The person accusing him has recanted and said he was lying about it.

End of story.

I doubt that it's the "end of story."

But it is for now.

'Elmo' Accuser Recants Allegations of Underage Sex With Kevin Clash

By ALYSSA NEWCOMB (@alyssanewcomb)

Nov. 13, 2012

The 23-year-old man who accused Kevin Clash, the man who has been the voice of Elmo on "Sesame Street" for nearly three decades, of having had a sexual relationship with him when he was a minor recanted the allegation today.

"He wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship," according to a statement issued by the unidentified man's representative, Andreozzi & Associates. "He will have no further comment on the matter."

Clash said he was relieved to put the "painful allegation" to rest and "will not discuss it further."

No charges have been filed.

The alleged underage relationship was brought to the attention of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization that produces the beloved children's show, by the accuser, however, it was not made public until Monday.

Clash, who is on voluntary leave from Sesame Workshop, issued a statement Monday denying he'd had an inappropriate relationship with his accuser.

"I am a *** man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it but felt it was a personal and private matter. I had a relationship with the accuser. It was between two consenting adults, and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to characterize it as something other than what it was," Clash said in a statement issued to ABC News.

"I am taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false and defamatory allegation," he said.

Sesame Workshop said it took the allegation "very seriously" and had taken "immediate action," but after an investigation, which included interviews with Clash and his accuser, found the claims to be "unsubstantiated."

The investigation, however, did reveal that Clash and the man had been involved in a "personal relationship unrelated to the workplace" and that the puppeteer had exercised "poor judgment" on company email and was disciplined.

Watch Clash's Interview With 'Nightline' Last Year

Clash, who is divorced and has one daughter, began using a falsetto voice in 1984 to bring life to the furry red monster. This year, Clash took home his 21st Emmy and the fourth in a row for "best performer in a children's series" as Elmo.

In a statement, Sesame Workshop said, "Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of "Sesame Street" to engage, educate and inspire children around the world as it has for 40 years."

Clash spoke to ABC News "Nightline" last year about his passion for puppets while promoting the documentary "Being Elmo."

"I have Peter Pan syndrome, we call it," Clash said.

After learning how to sew around age 9 or 10, Clash ended up making 80 puppets. At first he was teased for his passion, but the taunts faded after he became more and more famous, he said.

"'You sleep with your puppets, you play with dolls,' you know," Clash said of being teased as a kid. "Then I did my first local television show and everybody thought 'that's cool,' so that went away."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/elmo-accuser-recants-allegations-underage-sex-kevin-clash/story?id=17710758

[rightsonword]

some people seem to just love watching others fall . . .

[SgtFuryUSCZ]

***///

everybody happy their tax dollars are supporting this venue for criminals...?

[DayGee]

***///

everybody happy their tax dollars are supporting this venue for criminals...?

Where's the criminal? You want to talk about criminals take a look inside the US military. You can barely go a week without some major military scandal.

[krome2ez]

I doubt that it's the "end of story."

But it is for now.

Elmo Accuser Recants His Recant

Sheldon Stephens goes back to original story By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 19, 2012 10:44 AM CST

(Newser) – The Sesame Street sex scandal is indeed far from over: Sheldon Stephens, the 23-year-old who says Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash had sex with him when he was 16 and Clash was 45, recanted those allegations last week—but now he's recanting his recant, TMZ reports. Over the weekend, TMZ reported that Clash had paid Stephens $125,000 to recant his story; now Stephens has met with his lawyers to tell them he was indeed pressured into it (he was reportedly crying during the negotiations while saying he didn't want to sign), and he's now switching back to his original story.

He also wants to undo the settlement, and sources say he's happy to give up the $125,000. Last week, the Smoking Gun took a look at Stephens, a struggling model/actor who has been arrested a few times on charges ranging from passing a bad check to reckless driving to robbing a former employer at knifepoint

http://www.newser.com/story/157862/elmo-accuser-recants-his-recant.html