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A third accuser has come forward claiming he had sexual relations with Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash while underage, the New York Daily News is reporting.
The man, who was not identified, says he began the relationship in 2000, when he was 16, the paper reports. He claims he met and spoke with Clash on a gay chat line, the paper reports, and that several days later he visited Clash's apartment.
A representative for Clash told the paper, "Mr. Clash believes this lawsuit has no merit."
Miami-based lawyer Jeff Herman, who is representing both the second and third Clash accusers, said "some sexual activity" occurred, the paper reports, and that the accuser visited Clash's apartment again in 2003 and 2004, when he was no longer underage.
The attorney told the Daily News that his client began writing a book about the relationship in 2009, and said pages from it will be read at a press conference today.
Clash, a Baltimore County native who was the voice of Elmo on PBS' "Sesame Street" for more-than a quarter-century, left the show Nov. 20 in the wake of two charges he had had sex with minors. The first arose a week earlier but were recanted two days later by the accuser, identified in media reports as Sheldon Stevens, a "model/actor" who lives in Pennsylvania. Stevens has since said he regretted recanting the accusation, according to news reports.
The second accuser, New York native Cecil Singleton, leveled a similar accusation against Clash a week later. Singleton, who said he was 15 at the time of his encounter with Clash in 2003, has filed a lawsuit against Clash, seeking $5 million in damages.
Clash, 52, admitted having a sexual relationship with the first accuser, but said it did not involve underage sex. Following his resignation in the wake of the second accusation, he released a statement saying, "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."
Sesame Workshop, the producers of "Sesame Street," has said Elmo will continue as a character on the show.
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