RED MENACE: Sheldon Stephens, in New York yesterday, claims that “Sesame Street’s” Elmo voice Kevin Clash (above) enticed the then-16-year-old youth into wild sex parties. (Reuters)
RED MENACE: Sheldon Stephens (above), in New York yesterday, claims that “Sesame Street’s” Elmo voice Kevin Clash (inset) enticed the then-16-year-old youth into wild sex parties. (
)
A Pennsylvania man claims he had crystal-meth-fueled sex romps with former Elmo voice Kevin Clash when he was just 16 — and filed a lawsuit against the puppeteer to “save other children.”
Sheldon Stephens, 24, reached an out-of-court settlement with Clash late last year but recanted his admission that sex with the man behind the beloved “Sesame Street” character was a consensual adult affair.
Now he is going after Clash in federal court, claiming that starting in 2004 the world-renowned puppeteer lured Stephens from Harrisburg, Pa., to New York to engage in “lurid, crystal-meth sex parties.
“On one occasion, a male chauffeur drove Clash and Sheldon to the chauffeur’s apartment, where they had a crystal meth sex party,” said the lawsuit, filed in a Pennsylvania federal court.
“While in the apartment, Clash smoked crystal meth while engaging in sexual activity with Sheldon.”
A confident Stephens yesterday told reporters he’s suing Clash only now because his nieces and nephews are growing up and they’ve come to idolize Elmo — much to his dismay.
“It disgusted me inside because I knew what had happened to me,” Stephens said. “That motivated me and my parents to reach out to ‘Sesame Street’ and kind of warn them against Kevin Clash and about him potentially harming other children.
“It was more of a personal feeling,” added Stephens, who graduates from college this year and said he has overcome his trauma with support from family and friends.
Clash resigned from “Sesame Street” on Nov. 20 after Stephens and another young man claimed to have had underage sex with the man who had voiced Elmo for 28 years.
Sesame Workshop, the educational nonprofit that produces the show, has said the sex allegations against Clash made it impossible for him to remain behind Elmo.
Clash’s lawyer, Michael Berger, said the suit is “meritless and barred by the statute of limitations.”
“Sheldon Stephens, the plaintiff, has already admitted in writing that he had ‘an adult consensual relationship’ with Mr. Clash,” Berger said. “Mr. Clash continues to deny any wrongdoing and we intend to defend this case forcefully.”