Voice of Elmo takes leave of absence after allegations of sex with underage boy

Kevin Clash, who plays the voice of Elmo on the classical children’s show “Sesame Street,” has adamantly denied accusations that he had a sexual relationship with a sixteen year old boy. The accuser, a 23-year old man, claims that he and Clash started an intimate relationship seven years ago. Clash acknowledges having a relationship with his accuser, but insists the relationship started after the man was an adult. “In June of this year, Sesame Workshop received a communication from a young man  who alleged that he had a relationship with Kevin Clash beginning when he was  16-years-old,” said Sesame Workshop officials in a statement, “This was a personal relationship, unrelated to the workplace. We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action.” The accuser has said that he felt like Sesame Workshop lawyers were attempting to suppress him and therefore turned to Andreozzi and Associates, the firm that represented one of the victims in the Jerry Sandusky child rape case. Andreozzi sent a very strongly worded letter to Sesame accusing the company of attempting to “discredit the victim in order to protect its employee and the image of one of its most valuable characters…This approach places a greater value on a puppet than the well-being of a young man.” Clash has continued to assert that the accusations are untrue. He has taken a leave of absence from the show in order to, in the words of Sesame, take “actions to protect his reputation.”