Kevin Clash cleared of all sex abuse charges

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Kevin Clash, the former Sesame Street puppeteer who voiced Elmo for nearly 30 years, has been cleared by the U.S. Court of Appeals in sexual abuse charges in three separate cases this week.

However, Clash was not absolved of any wrongdoing; it’s just that that statute of limitations in each case has elapsed.

According to The Hollywood Reporter,

Clash, 53, was accused by multiple men of sexually abusing them over 10 years ago when they were minors. Multiple lawsuits were filed, but in July 2013, a New York judge said that the claims were made too late, as they were outside the state’s statute of limitations, which provides that a lawsuit has to be filed within six years of the event or three years after a plaintiff turns 21.

All of Clash’s accusers claimed they were coming forward now because their suffering was delayed.

The scandal caused by the allegations forced Clash to resign from Sesame Street in 2012. He always maintained that, while he was gay, he did not engage in inappropriate relationships with minors.