Voice of Elmo takes leave of absence

[Sphincter Cop]

Kevin Clash, the longtime puppeteer and voice of Sesame Street's Elmo, has resigned from the children's television program amid underage sex allegations, Sesame Workshop announced on Tuesday.

The non-profit organization called the scandal a "distraction," according to a statement published by The New York Times.

The statement reads:
Sesame Workshop’s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential. Kevin Clash has helped us achieve that mission for 28 years, and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day for Sesame Street.

HOWEVER (Via The Daily News)
a $5 million lawsuit labeled him a pedophile who trolled telephone chat rooms in a hunt for underage lovers.

The lawsuit was filed by a second man claiming that he was just a teenager when he had a sexual relationship with the award-winning voice of the beloved kids’ character.

Clash, 52, “was an unmarried adult male living a prominent public life centered around the entertainment of toddlers, while at the same time he was, in secret, preying on teenage boys to satisfy his depraved sexual interests,” the Manhattan lawsuit charged.

Sesame Workshop, which had granted Clash a leave of absence after the first allegation of sex with a minor, issued a statement accepting his resignation after 28 years as Elmo.