Wednesday, 12 December 2012

Kevin Clash Accuser NO. 4 Alleges Underage Sex, Files Lawsuit

A fourth - yes, fourth - accuser has come forward with a lawsuit against Sesame Street's former Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash, who he accuses of sexual misconduct.
The unidentified man says he was 16 or 17 in the '90s when he met Clash in Miami Beach.

Elmo, Kevin Clash Afterward, Clash "lured the boy to visit him in New York, with promises to pay for his plane ticket, be a 'dad' to him in New York and give him cash and a free place to stay."
That's according to an excerpt from the filing released by Miami-based attorney Jeff Herman, who also represents two of the three previous Clash accusers.
The offer appealed to the boy, "who was contemplating running away," according to the suit.
"These are all vulnerable boys," Herman said at a Miami press conference. "None of them had father figures in their lives and they were looking for that father figure."
In a statement, Kevin Clash's attorney, Michael Berger, said "the lawsuit is without merit and we will vigorously defend the case and Mr. Clash's reputation."
Clash resigned from Sesame Street, where he worked as an executive producer and puppeteer for 28 years, on November 20, amid a slew of similar claims.
He stepped down the same day as a second accuser stepped forward. Clash's first accuser, Sheldon Stephens, made, then recanted, sexual abuse allegations.
Stephens accepted a legal settlement with Clash, then disavowed it.
The second accuser, Cecil Singleton, made similar claims about Clash and his relationship with him, which he says began when he was under the age of 18.
It was at that point that Clash bowed out of Sesame Street.
A third Kevin Clash accuser later claimed he was plied with booze. The puppeteer, now 52, is openly gay but denies he slept with any boys who were underage.

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