Elmo Accuser Retracts Claims

(November 14, 2012/Fox News) -- The man who accused Sesame Street's "voice of Elmo," Kevin Clash, of having a sexual encounter with him when he was 16 has retracted his statements about the PBS puppeteer.In a statement sent to FOX 411 from the unnamed accuser’s attorneys, the 23-year-old took back his allegation.

“He wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship,” the statement read. “He will have no further comment on the matter.”

Clash, who has taken a leave of absence to deal with the accusation, is happy to be done with the investigation.

"I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest,” Clash said in a statement sent to FOX 411. “I will not discuss it further."

Still, a shadow of the scandal may hang over the normally behind-the-scenes "Sesame Street" personality. While it's legal for a 47-year-old man to have sex with an 18-year old he met some years earlier and stayed in touch with, it doesn't seem very Elmo-ish.