Former Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has finally been cleared of all sexual abuse charges. Clash faced three lawsuits in 2012, but a New York judge threw them out last summer. Now, a U.S. Court of Appeals has done the same.
In 2012, Clash was hit with a series of lawsuits from three accusers who claimed that he abused them a decade ago. In July 2013, a New York judge threw them out due to the statute of limitations. They each only had three years after they turned 18 to file the lawsuits, but they waited too long.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the accusers took their cases to the Court of Appeals, which agreed with the New York judge and dismissed the cases. Jeff Herman, the accusers’ attorney, told People that the cases were only thrown out because of the statute of limitations, not based on their merit. Herman is currently representing the man who has accused Bryan Singer of sexual abuse.
The first accuser was Sheldon Stephens, who later recanted and ended up reaching a settlement with Clash.
Clash resigned from Sesame Street and has denied any wrongdoing.