Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who controlled the iconic "Sesame Street" character Elmo, took a leave of absence from the Sesame Workshop after he was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy.
Clash, who is 45, has acknowledged that a relationship took place, but insists it happened after the accuser was an adult.
"Although this was a personal relationship unrelated to the workplace, our investigation did reveal that Kevin exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding internet usage and he was disciplined," Sesame Workshop said in a statement. "Kevin insists that the allegation of underage conduct is false and defamatory and he is taking actions to protect his reputation. We have granted him a leave of absence to do so."
Clash's accuser contacted the workshop in June and alleged that he had a sexual relationship with the puppeteer seven years ago.
"We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him," the statement said.
