Man who accused Elmo puppeteer of teen sex recants
NEW YORK (AP) - A man who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy has recanted his story.
In a quick turnabout, the man on Tuesday described his sexual relationship with Clash as adult and consensual.
Clash responded with a statement of his own, saying he is "relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest." He had no further comment.
The man, who has not identified himself, released his statement through the Harrisburg, Pa., law firm Andreozzi & Associates.
Sesame Workshop, which produces "Sesame Street" in New York, soon followed by saying, "We are happy that Kevin can move on from this unfortunate episode."
The whirlwind episode began Monday morning, when Sesame Workshop startled the world by announcing that Clash had taken a leave of absence from "Sesame Street" in the wake of allegations that he had had a relationship with a 16-year-old.
Clash, a 52-year-old divorced father of a grown daughter, swiftly denied the charges of his accuser, who is in his early 20s. In that statement Clash acknowledged that he is gay but said the relationship had been between two consenting adults.
Though it remained unclear where the relationship took place, sex with a person under 17 is a felony in New York if the perpetrator is at least 21.
Sesame Workshop, which said it was first contacted by the accuser in June, had launched an investigation that included meeting with the accuser twice and meeting with Clash. Its investigation found the charge of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated.
Clash said on Monday he would take a break from Sesame Workshop "to deal with this false and defamatory allegation."
Neither Clash nor Sesame Workshop indicated on Tuesday when he might return to the show, on which he has performed as Elmo since 1984.
Elmo had previously been a marginal character, but Clash, supplying the fuzzy red puppet with a high-pitched voice and a carefree, child-like personality, launched the character into major stardom. Elmo soon rivaled Big Bird as the face of "Sesame Street."
Though usually behind the scenes, Clash meanwhile achieved his own measure of fame. In 2006, he published an autobiography, "My Life as a Furry Red Monster," and he was the subject of the 2011 documentary "Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey."
He has won 23 daytime Emmy awards and one prime-time Emmy.
In a quick turnabout, the man on Tuesday described his sexual relationship with Clash as adult and consensual.
Clash responded with a statement of his own, saying he is "relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest." He had no further comment.
The man, who has not identified himself, released his statement through the Harrisburg, Pa., law firm Andreozzi & Associates.
Sesame Workshop, which produces "Sesame Street" in New York, soon followed by saying, "We are happy that Kevin can move on from this unfortunate episode."
The whirlwind episode began Monday morning, when Sesame Workshop startled the world by announcing that Clash had taken a leave of absence from "Sesame Street" in the wake of allegations that he had had a relationship with a 16-year-old.
Clash, a 52-year-old divorced father of a grown daughter, swiftly denied the charges of his accuser, who is in his early 20s. In that statement Clash acknowledged that he is gay but said the relationship had been between two consenting adults.
Though it remained unclear where the relationship took place, sex with a person under 17 is a felony in New York if the perpetrator is at least 21.
Sesame Workshop, which said it was first contacted by the accuser in June, had launched an investigation that included meeting with the accuser twice and meeting with Clash. Its investigation found the charge of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated.
Clash said on Monday he would take a break from Sesame Workshop "to deal with this false and defamatory allegation."
Neither Clash nor Sesame Workshop indicated on Tuesday when he might return to the show, on which he has performed as Elmo since 1984.
Elmo had previously been a marginal character, but Clash, supplying the fuzzy red puppet with a high-pitched voice and a carefree, child-like personality, launched the character into major stardom. Elmo soon rivaled Big Bird as the face of "Sesame Street."
Though usually behind the scenes, Clash meanwhile achieved his own measure of fame. In 2006, he published an autobiography, "My Life as a Furry Red Monster," and he was the subject of the 2011 documentary "Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey."
He has won 23 daytime Emmy awards and one prime-time Emmy.
Where I don't agree with the whole "Gay lifestyle"....(and how they EVER chose that word to use "Gay" I'll never know or understand)
I do, and WILL stand myself up and say ....
Whoever this person is >>>
"A man who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy has recanted his story."
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Same guy >>
" The man, who has not identified himself, released his statement through the Harrisburg, Pa., law firm Andreozzi & Associates."
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 This guy really needs to come forward and state just who he is (come out of hiding or maybe ...come out of the closet ....as it were ) and at least say he's sorry.
Or else remain forever the gutless, cowardly worm that he is for trying to ruin Mr.Clash and at the same time; all but stick a knife in the back of that red, fluffy, and so dang cool little guy "Elmo"
Thank you
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Elmo is still a HOMO
This interesting thing about Elmo is that he represents a pre-school-age kid who receives e-mail, answers the door for the mailman, as well as the telephone and whose parents are conspicuously absent or unattentive. I suppose it fits in with Ernie and Bert, an angry bum who lives in the trash, an invisible elephant. Heroes all the same. I'm glad to see Elmo off the hook.
From K**.com
NEW YORK -- The man who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of having sex with him when he was a
teen now says it isn't so. Â The man is now saying his sexual relationship with Clash was adult and consensual.
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Approximately 85% of the claims of sex abuse are false.....The DA refuses to go to trial because of lack of evidence, the "victim" recants etc. Damage done....This is what bothers me about some of the claims from many years past.....The statutory limits should still required after all one can make claims against some one long dead, however if the suspect is deceased or incapacitated NO CASE.....think they might be looking for cash because there is no defence....
It's getting so that we can't believe any accusations anymore.
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If a woman says she was raped, well, call me a doubter until I see some really good hard evidence with some DNA. Prosecutors do not want me on a trial for he said she said cases because before it even starts I have my mind made up to vote not guilty.
 @RalphCramden 100 % Correct. And I as a woman must be odd to some in Portland,  but I do worry about those merely accused as much as those who are true victims. Such an accusation is often times too much for the public to look past regardless of how innocent a person is. Men who've been accused and convicted of false rape/ DV crimes often commit suicide. Sadly we don't take it seriously. We have the attitude that "He deserved it!" One area where it's high time we crack down is on girls and women getting drunk and using the "I was intoxicated card" to blame a male for rape. By this standard, those accused of a DUI crime should say the same and be let off the hook when getting behind the wheel after drinking. This logic places all the burden on males while allowing girls to be unaccountable for their actions.  What if the male is just as drunk as the female? These accusations destroy a person. It's time our society finally stops looking past this while giving into the SLUT walk ideology.
 @Lisa Â
WELL SAID LISA!!!!!!
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Virtual high fives.
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The justice system is stacked against the man for sure. I prefer truth and am becoming more and more of a cynic. For this reason there are less and less men being convicted of rape unless there is significant physical evidence.
Now we aught to have this grifter's face plastered all over the web, instead of an innocent man's.
If the little punk has anything worth a nickle, I hope Mr. Clash sues him into the stone age for defamation of character.
I don't know, I am not a huge fan of "Elmo The Musical".
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Of course I didnât like "Elmo's World" any more but that's because I don't like Elmo. LOL
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Good news. I hope Mr. Clash can overcome any lingering effects from being falsely accused. He's going to need some support for sure.
How many people in Oregon are sitting in prison serving sentences for sex crimes they did NOT commit? Think this is rare? Think again. False accusations do not only happen to rich famous people. I hope Mr. Clash can go on with his life without issues from these false accusations. If only everyone who was falsely accused were so lucky....
 @bacana You're right on. But so long as we have the SLUT walk mentality in our society, those merely accused have no rights. This generally means that women have more rights than men. A female can assault a male and the male won't hit back due to fear of being jailed for assault. A female can accuse a male of DV and have him removed from his home and thrown in jail. A female can get piss drunk, lure on a male, beg him for sex and in the morning cry rape. We need to stop letting the Feminist Ideology be accepted. It's not right that those falsely accused of such heinous crimes are thrown in the spotlight. If the person is convicted with adequate evidence, that's a whole other story.Â
HA! Â Awesome. Â I figured it was BS.