Elmo puppeteer sued over alleged sexual abuse

A man who initially recanted sex abuse allegations against the former puppeteer of the Sesame Street character Elmo has sued him, alleging the entertainer lured him into drug-fuelled sex when he was 16.

“I was taken advantage of by someone a lot older, and manipulated,” Sheldon Stephens, who’s now 24, told a Manhattan news conference.

He said he met Kevin Clash at a networking event for models and actors, and was later brought by limousine from his Pennsylvania home to a New York apartment.

There, Stephens said, Clash smoked crystal meth while giving the teenager another recreational drug.

In a federal lawsuit filed this week in Pennsylvania, Stephens accused the 52-year-old Clash of sexual battery for childhood sexual abuse; travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct; and coercion and enticement to sexual activity. Stephens is asking for unspecified damages and coverage of his legal expenses.

Clash’s attorney, Michael Berger, said in a statement his client denies any wrong doing. He said Stephens already admitted he had had an adult consensual relationship with Clash.

Three other men also are suing Clash, alleging underage sex. Clash resigned from Sesame Street in November.

Stephens’ lawyer, Jeff Herman, said Stephens recanted over the possibility of a settlement, but none was ever reached.

Stephens said he was 22 when the relationship ended. He said he took action after watching Sesame Street with his nieces: “When I started to realise my nieces were idolising this character, it just disgusted me inside because I knew what had happened to me.”