A third man has come forward with allegations that the man behind Elmo’s voice, Kevin Clash, had a sexual relationship with him when he was 16 years old. Now 28, the man–who is simply going by the name John Doe in legal documents–says he met Clash on a gay chat line in 2000 during a trip to New York, which is a familiar story; the second man to come forward with underage sex allegations said he met the voice actor on a gay sex line in the ’90s when he was a teen.
As with the second accuser, the newest addition to the series of lawsuits says he was given alcohol and “groomed” to be Clash’s lover, and the two continued a sexual relationship after the man turned 18.
“When John was just 16 years old and attending high school, he traveled to the New York area for modeling opportunities,” the accuser’s attorney, Jeff Herman, said in the lawsuit. “At 16 years old, John went on a gay chat line to meet friends who were also gay. John specifically stated his intention on the chat line as non-sexual. John was contacted through the chat line by Kevin Clash. Kevin Clash said his name was Craig and he was 30 years old. Kevin Clash was approximately 40 years old at the time.”
After the first accuser began taking legal action, Clash took a leave of action from “Sesame Street”, where he’s been the voice of Elmo for 28 years. The subsequent allegations, however, have forced him to resign. He stated publicly that he wouldn’t discuss the case–or any other–and considered the matter closed when the first accuser recanted his story and said the two of them had a relationship after he turned 18. He later said he was pressured into recanting, though, and reclaimed his original allegations.