Is consensual sex between a 16-year-old and a man in his 40s ever really consensual? Not according to the latest lawsuit filed this week against Kevin Clash, the puppeteer formerly known as Elmo. Kevin Kiadii, 25, is the fifth man to sue Clash for sexual abuse, alleging that the ex–Sesame Street star, whom he met through a gay phone chat line in 2004, sent a car service to bring the then-16-year-old to his Manhattan apartment, where he allegedly “gave Kiadii alcohol and groomed him with attention and affection.” While the accuser admits that the sex was consensual, the legal age of consent in New York is 17.
