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Report: Accuser said Kevin Clash paid him $125K to recant

Print Posted by Kristi Palma November 19, 2012 08:55 AM

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Reuters/Lucas Jackson/Files

Kevin Clash and Elmo at the 2010 Peabody Award ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

Kevin Clash's accuser wants to undo a $125,000 settlement to recant his claim, reports TMZ.com.

Clash, the puppeteer behind the beloved children's character Elmo, paid his accuser, Sheldon Stephens, $125,000 to recant a claim that the pair had a sexual relationship when Stephens was 16 and Clash was 45, reports TMZ.

Stephens accused Clash of the inappropriate relationship last week and then recanted his story.

When Stephens recanted, he said, through his lawyers, that "his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship."

Now he's changing his story again.

TMZ reports, "We've learned Stephens has met with lawyers in Los Angeles and told them he was pressured into recanting his allegation and insists he's telling the truth when he says he had sex with Clash when he was 16."

Stephens, 23, reportedly wants to give the money back to restore his name.

As of this report, there is no comment from Clash or Sesame Workshop.

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Kristi Palma, Boston.com Moms producer, is the mom of a kindergartner and a preschooler. She is a writer who enjoys cooking her grandmother's Italian recipes (when her son isn't launching paper airplanes into them). Follow her on Twitter @kristipalma.

Jennifer Clark Estes is a teacher, writer, blogger, and the mother of four young children. In her free time, she blogs at A Mom's World, plays with the kids (or chauffeurs them around), and is desperately seeking a quiet spot so she can read a book. Follow her on Twitter @JenniferCEstes.