Kevin Clash , the puppeteer who provides the voice of Elmo on `` Sesame Street , '' resigned Tuesday after a man filed a lawsuit accusing him of conducting an underage sexual relationship . The lawsuit was filed in a New York court Tuesday , a week after another accuser recanted his claim that Clash , now 52 , engaged him in underage sex . `` I am resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart , '' Clash said in a written statement Tuesday . `` I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization . Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street is doing and I can not allow it to go on any longer . I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately . '' The Sesame Workshop also issued a statement announcing his resignation . `` This is a sad day for Sesame Street , '' it said . When heroes disappoint our kids . In the lawsuit , Cecil Singleton alleged that Clash `` persuaded , induced , coerced or enticed '' him to meet for sexual encounters when he was 15 years old . `` Kevin Clash preyed on vulnerable teenage boys , like Cecil Singleton , to satisfy his depraved sexual interests , '' attorney Jeff Herman said . `` By coming forward now , Cecil hopes to spare the lives of others like him and to begin his own healing process . '' The suit seeks $ 5 million in damages from Clash , alleging that Singleton `` suffered severe injuries , including but not limited to mental , psychological and emotional trauma . '' The earlier accuser -- who never filed a lawsuit -- issued a statement through a lawyer last week saying he `` wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr . Clash was an adult consensual relationship . '' The man , now 23 , had told Sesame Workshop in June that he started a relationship with Clash as a teenager , according to the workshop , which announced that a thorough investigation found `` the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated . '' When the first accusation emerged , Clash acknowledged a relationship between `` two consenting adults '' but said the man otherwise was making a `` false and defamatory allegation . '' `` I am a gay man , '' Clash said in a statement . `` I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it , but felt it was a personal and private matter . '' From the archives : Surprising stories behind 20 Muppet characters . The lawsuit alleged that Singleton , then 15 , began communicating with Clash when he called a gay chat line seeking friends in 2003 . `` During these telephone calls , Kevin Clash persuaded , induced , coerced or enticed Cecil Singleton to meet him for sexual encounters , '' the complaint said . Clash `` groomed Cecil and gained his trust by , among other things , taking him to nice dinners and giving him money , '' the suit said . The two met `` on numerous occasions over a period of years '' and engaged in sexual activity , the suit said . Clash is the high-pitched voice of the iconic furry red Elmo , whom he 's been playing since 1984 , winning Emmy Awards along the way . He was the third Muppeteer to take on the role . Clash also was Sesame Street 's senior Muppet coordinator and Muppet captain , the `` Sesame Street '' website says . A documentary , `` Being Elmo , '' focused on his story . In an interview previously posted on the website of NYC Dads , an initiative of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg , Clash spoke about how he worked to spend time with his daughter , who lives with his ex-wife outside Baltimore . Sound off on iReport with your reaction .
`` Kevin Clash preyed on vulnerable teenage boys , '' the accuser 's lawyer says . `` I am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately , '' Clash says . Suit claims Clash `` persuaded , induced , coerced or enticed '' a 15-year-old into sex encounters . It was filed a week after another accuser recanted a similar claim .