A fourth accuser has now come forward to allege that he had underage sex with former Sesame Street puppeteer Kevin Clash.
The unidentified accuser claims that his relationship with the 52-year-old man behind Elmo has caused him “emotional, mental and psychological damage” according to the lawsuit.
This is fourth young man in two months to accuse Clash of pursuing a sexual relationship with a minor.
TMZ reports that the accuser filed the lawsuit under the name John Doe stating that Clash met Doe in Miami beach in 1995 or 1996 when he was only sixteen or seventeen years old.
Clash allegedly later even paid Doe to fly out to New York where he groomed him with money and a place to stay. Doe claims they had sex on multiple occasions during the trip.
Doe’s attorney, Jeff Herman, told TMZ that “according to our lawsuit, Kevin Clash knowingly paid to transport a minor across state lines for the purpose of satisfying his sexual interests.”
Clash first faced allegations of having relationships with minor in November and since then, three of the four purported victims have filed suit against him.
The now-infamous children’s entertainment star was forced to resign from his nearly 30-year stint at Sesame Street and he has also publicly come out as gay in response to the accusations.
“I am a gay man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter,” Clash told USA Today in November.
Clash has already admitted to having a sexual relationship with the first accuser, but Clash claimed that the man was not underage and that the encounters were consensual.
In an official statement released on November 20th, Clash said, “I am resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart. I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization. Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately.”
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