EXCLUSIVE: Two more 'victims' come forward to accuse Elmo star of grooming them for underage sex 

• Kevin Clash, 52, accused of 'trawling internet and gay chatlines' in search of young boys
• Accuser Cecil Singleton tells of 'intense kissing, groping and sex acts' and 'the most passionate kiss I have ever had'
• His lawyer says he is vetting the claims of two more young men
• First 'victim' Sheldon Stephens changes his position once more and says the star DID have sex with him when he was a minor

By Laura Collins

PUBLISHED: 19:35 EST, 21 November 2012 | UPDATED: 19:36 EST, 21 November 2012

Two more alleged victims have come forward claiming that the puppeteer behind Sesame Street's Elmo sexually abused them bringing the potential total to four.

Speaking exclusively to Mail Online, Jeff Herman, attorney for Cecil Singleton, 24, one of those claiming abuse at the hands of Kevin Clash revealed that he has been contacted by two further young men.

He said: 'I have been contacted by a couple of young men who allege similar facts to those alleged by Cecil.

Cecil Singleton, 24, left, and his lawyer Jeff Herman, right, the attorney described Clash as a 'continued threat'

Elmos's fired: Kevin Clash in New York earlier this year when the smiling public face of the 'voice of Elmo' was all that anybody knew

'I'm still vetting them so cannot go into too much detail but their allegations are very similar.'

He added, 'Let's be clear. We're not talking about underage sex here. There is no such thing as consensual sex with a minor. There is sexual abuse'.

A desire to expose the truth: Cecil Singleton speaking this week at a press conference in New York. He is the second youth to accuse Clash

Amid a flurry of accusations, the 52-year-old Sesame Street star resigned on Tuesday when Mr Singleton became the second young man to step forward with tales of inappropriate and underage sexual relations with Clash.

In the Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit, the plaintiff described Mr Clash as, 'an unmarried adult male living a prominent public life centered around the entertainment of toddlers, while at the same time he was, in secret, preying on teenage boys to satisfy his depraved sexual interests'.

Mr Singleton claims to have first met Clash over a gay phoneline in 2003 when he was just 15 and Clash was 42. 

He says he is 'happy' that Clash has resigned and claims a torrid two-week affair followed that first meeting.

He alleges that it was characterised by groping, intense kissing and various sex-acts that stopped short of full intercourse.

But, Mr Singleton asserts: 'If I had to make an educated guess and say if we had stayed together we more than likely would have had sex at that age'.

Sesame Street say that Clash has shown poor judgement in using the internet and emails inappropriately but insist that stepping aside means he would have time to defend his reputation.

Turned into a 'monster': Sheldon Stephens, 23, the Pennsylvanian model was the first to accuse Clash. He recanted his allegation but has since claimed to have done so under duress

Clash and Singleton did in fact meet again and went on to have a full sexual relationship but not, Mr Singleton stressed, 'until years later when I was an adult'.

In a statement issued on his behalf this week Clash said, 'I am a gay man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter.'

He said he was, 'saddened' by his accusers' attempts to characterise what he described as 'consensual relationships' as anything other than that.

Back in 2003, Clash had 'presented himself as the perfect gentleman. He told me how beautiful I was...After dinner, we talked and talked,' Singleton recalled.

'He asked me if I might come to his apartment so he could give me a proper good-night kiss. He gave me the most passionate kiss I ever had experienced'.

That same year Clash's divorce from ex-wife Geina, by whom he has a 19-year-old daughter, Shannon, was finalised.

Some rare time with his daughter Shannon, now 19. Kevin was in New York for much of her childhood while her mother raised her in Virginia

Kevin and daughter Shannon, 19, at the Baltimore family home where they celebrated Thanksgiving last year. She used to beg him to spend time with her

'My client never really thought of himself as a victim,' Mr Herman explained. The 24-year-old is, by his attorney's own assessment a 'sophistciated young man,' and better able to handle the emotional fall-out from his experiences than many in a similar situation might be.

Mr Herman said: 'It was the realisation that this had happened to other people that led Cecil to come forward. Cecil had thought he was the only one and learning that he wasn't made him want to expose the truth. That really is why he's doing this.

'He alleges that Clash went on websites and chatlines seeking out young men, looking for teenage boys and that concerns him more really than his own situation. He doesn't want this to happen again.
'Seeing Sheldon Stephens is what made him speak up'.

When model, entrepreneur and actor Sheldon Stephens accused Clash of sexual abuse he quickly found his own criminal past made public

Mr Stephens, 23, was the first young man to level allegations of sexual misconduct at the middle-age children's entertainer.

In a confusing tumble of events Stephens, who describes himself on his Twitter accounts as an 'Entrepreneur, student, model and actor' first accused Clash of having sex with him when he was 16.

He subsequently publicly recanted, claiming a 'misunderstanding' and stating that, on reflection, he had been 18 all along.

This re-think reportedly came along with a $125,000 settlement.

Lawyers for Stephens released a statement on his behalf, reading: 'He [Stephens] wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr Clash was an adult consensual relationship.'

Stephens recanted as his own far from pure past was publicly raked over. He once worked as an intern for music manager Darian Pollard.

It emerged that, in 2009, Mr Pollard contacted the Beverly Hills Police claiming that he had stolen a 'white gold necklace with diamonds' and a 'white gold ring with diamond baguettes'.

Stephens had boarded a plane from Los Angeles to his hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was arrested at the airport wearing the jewelry. The charges were subsequently dropped.

The young model was shown to have a list of offences including reckless driving and passing a bad cheque - though that too was dismissed after he made good with the business to which the cheque had been written.

It was also revealed that his mother, Felicity, is currently out on bail and due in court next month on a charge of attempted murder and aggravated assault after allegedly stabbing her husband with scissors.

Little wonder, perhaps, that it all got too much for Stephens who, speaking in an emotional press conference bemoaned the fact that he had been 'turned into a monster'.

'I'm sorry that I keep talking about sex with you,' Clash allegedly emailed Stephens. 'It's driving me insane...'

For his part Clash never denied having sex with Stephens but claimed that it was of age and consensual.

Emails between the two men reveal Clash apologising, 'I'm sorry that I keep talking about sex with you, it's driving me insane.'

He goes on, 'I want you to know that I love you and I will never hurt you. I'm here to protect you and make sure your dreams come true...

'I'll have my assistant book a ticket for you to come to NY and we can talk about this in person'.

Like Brother and Sister: How Clash's realtionship with former wife, Genia, above, has been described

Sesame Street disciplined Clash for inappropriate use of company email after the emails were found.

But if Clash thought that Stephens's allegations, at least, had been put to bed he was mistaken. In another twist the young man is now seeking to recant his reversal.

He now claims that he did have sex when underage and that he had been coerced into signing the agreement which claimed otherwise. He was in tears as he did so he says and it was against his will.

Mr Herman was circumspect about Stephens; 'With regards to Sheldon Stephens there are a lot of facts we still don't know.

'I would caution anyone drawing conclusions at this moment but there is more to come out on that front'.

These tales of sexual grooming, of internet trawling and chatline calling are all a very far cry from the image of beloved children's entertainer and devoted father.

This is the image that Clash has cultivated across the decades.

The film, 'Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey,' released last year was lauded as the 'feel good movie of the year'.

It tells the story of Clash's rise to fame - though a sequel may yet have to chart his fall into ignominy.

In it, Clash claims that Elmo's success took its toll on his relationship with his former wife Genia and their only daughter, Shannon, now 19.

Genia and Clash began dating when she was a student nurse and both were just 19 but their marriage fell apart while Shannon was still a babe in arms. Shannon was raised by her mother in Virgina while Clash spent most of his time in New York - Sesame Street is taped in Astoria, Queens.

Being Elmo: lauded as the 'feel good film of the year' in it Clash blames his marriages failure on Elmo's success

Speaking in publicity interviews last year he said: 'I started coming up to New York. I was never home. so it really took its toll.

'I remember when Shannon was just learning how to talk, and I got on the phone with her, adn she just went off on me. She was yelling at me - like, "How dare you be away?" - and that just crushed me.

'All I kept saying was, "Shannon I'm so sorry."'

Ultimately, when shannon was 16 or 17, he recalled her asking her father to spend some time with her before she left home and went to College. 'I went to the Sesame Workshop,' he said. 'I said "I love what I do, but I am going to be taking some time to work things out with my daughter.'

According to Genia, who now co-runs an events organising company in Baltimore, her relationship with Clash is like that of a 'brother and sister'.

As family pictures show he is a regular vistor to her Baltimore home and this time last year the family celebrated Thanksgiving together.

With the threat of multiple lawsuits hanging over him, it seems unlikely that Clash will be in similarly festive mood this year. And what of Elmo and his reputation?

This year's Elmo dolls, 'LOL Elmo,' which giggles and 'Let's Rock! Elmo' which sings and comes with a microphone and drum set have failed to make any of this year's hot toy lists.

But manufacturers, Hasbro, insist that it is too soon to say how the allegations against Clash will impact on sales of the character which account for up to 50 per cent of the $75million generated by Sesame Street toys each year.

On Tuesday Hasbro issued a statement saying, 'We are confident that Elmo will remain an integral part of Sesame Street.' Certainly season no. 44 has already wrapped guaranteeing that, however this tale unfolds, Clash's voice will feature well into 2014.