Kevin Clash Accuser is Identified by Online News Outlet

The Smoking Gun website has uncovered the identity of the man who accused puppeteer Kevin Clash of having an under-age sexual relationship with him.

Citing two sources—a family member and a friend—The Smoking Gun said Clash's accuser is 24-year-old Sheldon Stephens, an aspiring model and actor.

Stephens did not respond to requests for comment made by the website to his Facebook and Twitter accounts, according to The Smoking Gun's article.

Through the website TMZ, a Dundalk native and 1979 graduate of Dundalk High School, of the sexual impropriety, and recanted his accusation the next day through a statement issued by the Harrisburg, PA law firm of Andreozzi and Associates.

According to The Smoking Gun, Stephens reportedly has a checkered past. He was accused of passing a bad check, and those charges were dropped after he settled the debt with a Harrisburg business.

He was also accused of robbing a music manager at gunpoint, taking $250,000 worth of jewelry, but the manager later claimed to not recall the robbery. A friend of Stephens' characterized the incident as a "misunderstanding" and a "domestic dispute," according to The Smoking Gun.

While Clash has stated through his attorneys that he is relieved the situation is resolved, The Smoking Gun said the recantation comes after TMZ effectively outed Clash as gay.

"I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter," Clash said in a statement regarding his sexuality.

Sesame Workshop, which produces Sesame Street, the program on which Clash provides the voice and personality of the muppet Elmo, allowed Clash to take a leave of absence from the company so he could work to clear his reputation.

While the recantation comes as a relief to the puppeteer, he isn't headed back to work yet, according to Fox 411.

"Kevin has asked for some additional time to put this ordeal behind him, which we totally understand," Sesame Workshop officials told the news outlet.

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