THE "BOY" WHO TRIED TO BRING DOWN ELMO

 

(sheldon stephens~ yes, hot guys can also be dicks)

The man, (not boy) who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of engaging in an underage sexual relationship--only to recant the allegation a day later--is a struggling 24-year-old model/actor who was once arrested for the knifepoint robbery of $250,000 in jewelry from a music manager for whom he interned, 

The accuser, Pennsylvania resident Sheldon Stephens, had his unsubstantiated claims against Clash published Monday on the gossip web site TMZ. The smear triggered a torrent of social media activity and press reports that portrayed Clash, 52, as a predator.

It is unclear how Stephens, who once lived in New York City, met Clash, who resides on Manhattan’s West Side. A friend of Stephens said that he "attracts these high-powered men," but that the model wannabe was a "God-fearing guy" and "not just a pretty boy."

In a statement released yesterday, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania law firm--which no longer represents Stephens--reported that Clash’s accuser “wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship.” TMZ initially reported that the man claimed to have been 16 when his sexual relationship with Clash began.

The acknowledgement that the damaging claim against Clash was not true came as a relief to the producers of “Sesame Street,” who, as The New York Times notes, “had been alarmed by seeing the words ‘under-age sex’ in the same sentence as ‘Elmo.’” 

The recanting, however, came after TMZ had effectively outed Clash as a gay man. In a statement, the puppeteer noted, “I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter.” 

Stephens describes himself as an “Entrepreneur, Student, Model, Actor” on his Twitter account, which is protected. His Facebook page’s “About” blurb notes, “I like to consider myself a rare breed. I'm very spontaneous and random…I'm determined and goal oriented. My destiny is laid on a solid gold brick pathway....... MY FUTURE IS BRIGHT and never will it dim.”

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